This Issue

• Service in the Church
• For Principals and School Boards
• For Educators
• For Parents
• Forming Adult Faith
• Compendium Corner

Service in the Church

In June, we celebrate several different events. We reflect on the mystery of the Church revealed to us on Pentecost Sunday (May 31). We honor our fathers on Father's Day, June 21. We celebrate the achievements and hopes of our graduates. Our experience of participating in Church shows us that the Church consists of people, who witness to the building up of God's Church under the guidance of priests. God gathers the Body of Christ, both ordained and lay, to witness to His Word. In June, new graduates, students on summer vacation, and Catholic educators can find opportunities to exercise their priesthood and serve in the Church.

This issue of To Teach provides ideas and strategies for discovering opportunities for service in the Church.

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For Principals and School Boards

• Close the school year in this Jubilee Year of St. Paul with a celebration of the Word from Celebrations of the Word in the Year of St. Paul by Pope Benedict XVI. Afterwards, offer a reflection on how the celebration shapes the school's mission.
• Provide graduating seniors with information about college campus ministry programs they can connect with when they venture off to college.
• Encourage graduates to keep the Church in their homes by presenting them with Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, the prayerbook for every household.
• Post the Letter to College Students from the Catholic Bishops on your school Web site. Provide each graduating senior with a copy along with a copy of a Student Leader's Guide to Campus Ministry. This resource for young adults at both private and public colleges and universities encourages them to become "coworkers in Christ" as they minister with and among their peers.
• Before the school year ends, set aside a special school "Father's Day" to honor priests working in or associated with the school.
• Create a link on your school website for Lino At Large, a fast-paced half-hour weekly program geared toward young adult Catholics and non-Catholics. It explores the beauty, excitement, and challenges of being Catholic in today's world.
• Invite a priest to come and speak to graduating students in a session about vocations. Ask students to prepare by reading Pope Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Encourage students to ask questions about the intersection of Church with careers and personal life.
• Provide parents of your students with a listing of “family friendly movies” including the Vatican’s best film listing that can be viewed over the summer months.

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For Educators

• Reflect on your role as a teacher in cooperation with clergy and other Church leaders after reading the following text from Pope Benedict XVI's book on St. Paul (Spiritual Thoughts Series):
  • The Church’s “joints”: In his Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul tell us that this Body of Christ, which is the Church, has joints (cf. Eph 4:16) and even names them: they are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (cf. 4:12). (Homily on the Vigil of Pentecost, June 3, 2006)
• During the last week of school, have students read the readings for Mass on Pentecost Sunday. In a discussion, ask students to talk about they specific kind of service they can offer from the Body of Christ.
• Provide a link to Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium (free PDF here), and highlight the section on the Call to Mission and Ministry. Use the following question as a discussion point: "In what ways could ordained and lay ministers collaborate more effectively and offer mutual support in ministry?"
• Ask a priest to speak to your class about his journey to the priesthood and reflections on his priestly ministry. Lead a question and answer session on the various ministries people can engage in the Church.
• Help students who have expressed an interest in vocations by directing them to the National Conference of Diocesan Vocations Directors.
• Suggest that students complete an easy service project for Father's Day: tell them to ask their parish priest to help them find a retired priest in their community, and have them arrange a special visit with food on or around Father's Day.
• Provide new teachers and catechetical leaders with a copy of Summary of the National Directory for Catechesis during orientation and training. This focused summary highlights the concepts and directives of each of the ten chapters of the National Directory for Catechesis in clear, concise language.
• Provide a copy of Adolescent Catechesis to the catechists who work with teens as a means for ongoing study. This collection of scholarly and thought-provoking articles focuses on current topics in adolescent catechesis. Use this resource as the basis for an on-line study group, assigning learners to read and then “e-mail chat” about one article per week.
• Expand your knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith by participating in one of the many Catholic Distance Learning Programs available. Hosted by accredited Catholic colleges, universities, seminaries and schools of theology, these programs offer classes to lay people that enable give students living far from a campus access to educational resources.
• Before school is dismissed, distribute a prayer card to students to encourage them to pray for those in need throughout the summer.

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For Parents

• Celebrate Father's Day together by praying the Prayer for Families and Prayer for Fathers from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers.
• Attend Mass together on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ on June 14. After Mass, discuss the meaning of families receiving Communion together with the rest of the parish.
• On or around June 14, read the following selection from Pope Benedict XVI's book on St. Paul (Spiritual Thoughts Series):
  • The Bread of Christ: Bread made of many grains contains also an event of union: the ground grain becoming bread is a process of unification. We ourselves, many as we are, must become one bread, one body, as St. Paul says (cf. 1 Cor 10:17). In this way the sign of bread becomes both hope and fulfillment. (Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 16, 2005)
• Set aside June 29, The Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, as a special time to honor Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father, and all fathers who work in the Lord's vineyard.
• Schedule some time each week to view and discuss the Catholic Communication Campaign video clips called One-on-One as a family. These short clips provide interviews with well-known Catholics who discuss and share insights about their faith.
• Establish a media watch group with other parents in your parish or from your children’s school. Check out the Renewing the Mind of the Media Campaign to learn more information about creating a group or for background articles and information about being media smart.
• Sign the Renewing the Mind of the Media Pledge to help “urge government representatives to use their influence appropriately so that the media will strive to serve the common good and not only their own interests." Pledge to reject media that produce immoral content and demean the dignity of the human person.
• June usually means that kids are home from school. Find helpful resources on parenting at all stages at the USCCB's Web site, For Your Marriage.

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Forming Adult Faith

"Forming Adult Faith" includes suggestions from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA) on how to promote ongoing faith formation among the adults in your school community.

There are three chapters from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults that address the mysteries of the Church.

• Chapter 10. The Church: Reflecting the Light of Christ
• Chapter 20. Holy Orders

Ideas and suggestions on how to use these chapters for your individual and group reflection can be found online and in the Reader's Journal for the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.

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Compendium Corner

"Compendium Corner" provides a list of questions and answers in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that are related to this month’s topic. (The number before the question is the question number in the Compendium.)

• Review the questions and answers in preparation for your class.
• Consider how to use appropriate questions and answers as part of your lesson plan.
• Develop learning activities that help youths and young adults learn this information by heart (memorization).
  

145.   What does the Spirit do in the Church?
147.   What does the Word Church mean ?
150.   What is the mission of the Church?
155.   In what way does the people of God share in the three functions of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King?
188.   What is the vocation of the lay faithful?
189.   How do the lay faithful participate in the priestly office of Christ?
190.   How does the laity participate in the prophetic office?
191.   How do they participate in the kingly office?
336.   With what authority is the priestly ministry exercised?

To obtain a copy of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, visit www.usccbpublishing.org or call 800-235-8722.

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