Starting on the first Sunday of October, we begin a month that celebrates the life that was given to us by God and reminds us of our call to faithfully nurture and steward that life. The bishops wrote in Sharing Catholic Social Teaching (SCST), Catholic social teaching is based on and inseparable from our understanding of human life and human dignity. Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family. Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity. Human dignity comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment. (SCST, 1-2)
Human life has inherent dignity, given to us by God. As we look at the people around us, we are challenged daily to nurture that sense of dignity in others, especially the children that we teach.
The Feast of St. Francis on October 4 reminds us that the call to nurture human dignity is intimately related to our care of all of God’s creation. SCST notes that we must “measure every policy, every institution, and every action by whether it protects human life and enhances human dignity, especially for the poor and vulnerable” (p. 6). The memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary three days later provides another opportunity to reflect on our choices to treat others justly or to be peacemakers. The bishops have produced three rosary resources, A Rosary for Peace>, A Scriptural Rosary for Justice and Peace, and Rosary for the Church in Need, as guides to a deeper reflection on Mary as the model of justice and peace.
On October 29, we celebrate the national celebration of World Youth Day. This event poses two challenges to us. First, we are called welcome our children and young people as openly and as warmly as Jesus did throughout his ministry. Second, we must plant the seeds of faith and leadership in our youth and nurture them regularly and continuously. In these ways, we show how important they are to the life of the community.
This issue of To Teach includes suggestions on how to take the themes of these four days and create an atmosphere of dignity and respect in your school community.
Talk with parish leaders about how to promote Respect Life in the school and parish so that the message is repeated and reinforced in both places. Consider distributing the same materials to parents at Mass and through their children.
Support the work of the parish at PTA/PTO meetings by including information like parish announcements on Respect Life activities during the meeting or using the prayers and intercessions developed by the USCCB as part of prayer.
Take advantage of the focus for the month at an October school board meeting and address any ways in which the school falls short of promoting the dignity of each child and adult in the school. Identify 2-3 concrete ways that the principal, teachers, and staff can change this.
Evaluate your school’s impact on the environment including your current recycling programs. Identify areas to improve and implement at least one improvement this month.
Make memorizing how to pray the rosary a learning objective for October.
Look at the ways in which the school promotes the participation and leadership of the students in its daily life during a staff meeting. Ask the staff to identify the ways in which the school could invite more students to participate or take a leadership role. Pick two or three ways and implement them during the coming semester.
Display the poster Themes from Catholic Social Teaching in your room. Review the seven themes throughout the month of October. Ask your students to identify ways in which they currently put each theme into practice. Challenge them to name 2-3 ways that they can practice the themes of “Life and Dignity of the Human Person” and “Care for God’s Creation” in school, with their friends, and at home.
Share Pope Benedict’s World Youth Day message with your students, especially those in middle school. Note that the Holy Father encourages young people to come to know Jesus Christ through the Scriptures. Using Mark’s Gospel which we have been hearing at Mass, read portions of it each day as part of daily prayer. (Schedule the readings so that you can finish the Gospel by the end of the month.) As a reflection after the reading, ask your students name what they learned about Jesus in the Gospel.
Review the descriptions of the themes, “Life and Dignity of the Human Person” or “Care for God’s Creation,” online. In your own words, share with your children what the themes are and together come up with one way that your family will put that theme into practice throughout the month.
Read Pope John Paul II’s The Gospel of Life (in print or online). How well in your words and actions do you demonstrate to your children that you value the sacred gift of life? In what ways could you better communicate that to your children?
Look at how your family “recycles” things other than paper, plastic, and glass including toys, games, clothes, and sports equipment. Ask each person in the family to pick three items in good condition to “recycle” and give them to charity.
Chapter 29 of the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, “The Fifth Commandment: Promote the Culture of Life,” provides an overview of the Church’s teaching on various important life issues, beginning with the story of Dorothy Day. Both individuals and groups—a full staff or a grade level gathering—can use the following suggestions. Each suggestion can be completed in 10-15 minutes.
Read the story of Dorothy Day. How does her story inspire you to seek holiness, defend life, and promote social justice? Identify one way that you can seek holiness, defend life, or promote social justice in your school, then do it.
Review the sections entitled, “Respect Human Life” and “Life Issues That Confront Us.” How do you demonstrate a respect for life in your school, parish, and home? Respond to the questions under “For Discussion,” especially the second part of question 3. Discuss how the school can better promote the value of human life within the school community.
Memorize and pray the quote from Deuteronomy as your daily prayer during October.
The following is a list of questions from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that are related to this month’s topic. The number before each question is the question number found in the Compendium.
How Can I Use the Compendium?
Review the questions and answers in preparation for your class.
Develop learning activities that help the youths and young adults learn this information by heart (memorization).
198. What kind of devotion is directed to the holy Virgin?
358. What is the root of human dignity?
373. What does the dignity of the human person imply for the moral conscience?
466. Why must human life be respected?
470. What is forbidden by the fifth commandment?
Starting on the first Sunday of October, we begin a month that celebrates the life that was given to us by God and reminds us of our call to faithfully nurture and steward that life. The bishops wrote in 
