Starting June 29, we begin a year-long celebration of the bimillennium anniversary of St. Paul the Apostle's birthday. St. Paul's life is extraordinary in many ways—his conversion from persecutor to apostle, his extended travels to many cities to preach the Gospel, his time spent in jail, and his death. As the Apostle to the Gentiles, we often look to St. Paul as an example of what we strive to be as evangelizers of the Word of God—someone with firm conviction who speaks about the life and teaching of Jesus will great passion and joy and who willingly sacrifices for his belief in Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah.
During July and August, review the suggestions below in this issue of To Teach and identify when and how you can implement some of these ideas in your lessons to help you and others step into St. Paul's shoes and be an evangelizer, preacher, and teacher of the Word.
Sign up to become a Resource Service member if your school will purchase books worth $500 or more during the school year. As a Resource Service member, your school will save 40% on all online orders of books from USCCB, you will automatically get a copy of all new titles for review as possible resources for your staff or as potential textbooks for your students, and you can be billed for any order.
If your school intends to purchase books worth $100 or more, USCCB Preferred is a discount club that offers 30% off on all online purchases.
Purchase copies of Essentials for Christian Living to give to each staff member at the start of the school year. Encourage them to use this resource as "food for their soul" throughout the year.
Identify one or two ways that you can encourage staff and students to share stories of faith—or be evangelizers of the Gospel—throughout the coming school year.
Consider displaying pictures and a quote or short biography of a saint or important Catholic figure each month on a bulletin board or your school website.
Devote a part of the opening school year staff meeting to reading and discussing what Catholic evangelization is and how you and your staff can put it into practice.
Set a year-long goal for Bible reading for the school community (see #93 in Go and Make Disciples) and designate an appropriate reward for reaching the goal. Consider requiring the staff to participate in the reading drive as well. Establish age-appropriate benchmarks, identifying number of verses or chapters and particular books that should be read. Plan different methods for demonstrating your school's new skills in biblical reading and literacy. Promote your school's Bible reading challenge in the local news, your diocesan newspaper, and at your website.
Create a timeline of the key events in St. Paul's life to display in your classroom (try this website from the Vatican as a source of information; also available in Spanish). Associate specific Scripture passages from the Book of Acts and the Pauline letters with the events on your timeline. Start each week in September by reading the passages on a regular basis throughout the year, inviting students to lead prayer using the Bible passage, or giving them a short quiz on their knowledge of St. Paul and Scripture.
Include any of the following in your social studies, geography, or history lesson plans for the fall.
A map of St. Paul's travels that highlights the cities to which he sent letters
Using the history of the development of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls near Rome, Italy, post pictures of and information on the changes in the Basilica with pictures and facts about what was happening in the world at those times.
With your students, create a "top ten" list of "How St. Paul Would Tell Us to Act (or Behave)" based on what is in the letters attributed to St. Paul in the New Testament. Have them work on this in small groups, assigning one letter (or a part of a longer letter) to each group. Or start the entries for the top ten list, but do not complete them. Include the citation from the Bible at the end of the incomplete statement, and use this as a bible quiz to build up skills for looking up passages in the Bible.
Write a brief note, highlighting your favorite Scripture passage, saying, or parable in the Bible, that you can copy (by hand or with a photocopier) onto special paper and give to each of your students in the fall. Explain why it is your favorite story. Ask them to think about their favorite story and come ready to share their answer with the other students.
Practice the art of letter writing with your students throughout the coming year, using the format of the letters in the New Testament as a guide. The letters could be addressed to their parents, the pastor, a friend, a godparent, or even to themselves. For letters to the pastor, you, another teacher, or themselves, help deliver them to the appropriate person. The letters could be about:
What they learned in this chapter (or this week) in class and what they want to remember
One way that they are going to act differently because of what they learned
A word or phrase that they want to memorize because it is special or important to them
If you will be working with children who are preparing for First Communion, First Reconciliation, or Confirmation, schedule the short quotes or reflections in Essentials for Christian Living as a part of the opening or closing prayer of your religion class. If you can, purchase copies for each of your students so that they can read the texts together.
Ask your children to answer the question, "Who is St. Paul and why is he important to us as Catholics?" Encourage them to do research on the Internet, go to the Library, ask teachers and other adults at their school and parish, and read the introduction to the Letters in the New American Bible. Share your responses during a Sunday meal or some other family dinner.
Commit your family to a weekly rereading of the second reading from that Sunday. (For information on the Sunday readings, visit the New American Bible Web site or the Secretariat for Divine Worship.) Include the Scripture passage as part of your prayer before a Sunday meal. As part of your family's reflection, identify an action that St. Paul tells us we should do (e.g., share what we have, treat each other kindly, give food to the poor.) Make it a goal for the coming week to put that action into practice with your family and friends and at home and school.
Use the short reflections in Essentials for Christian Living as part of your daily or weekly dinner prayer. Invite one family member to read the prayer or quote, then briefly share your thoughts on why this prayer or quote is important in your life.
Follow the model of Pope Benedict XVI as an evangelizer and preacher of the Word as you reflect on his words in Spiritual Thoughts: In the First Year of His Papacy. The first in a series of pocket-sized reading and reflection books, Pope Benedict XVI brings us inside his spiritual life and introduces us to the man who is our Holy Father. The books on Mary, the saints, and St. Paul will be available throughout the last half of 2008.
Introduce your children to Catholic stewardship as you prepare your donation for Peter's Pence, the national collection that supports the Holy Father's work of building up the life and mission of the Church.
"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.
"Compendium Corner" usually 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 following questions relate to this month's topic.
9. What is the full and definitive stage of God's Revelation?
13. In what ways does Apostolic Tradition occur?
14. What is the relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture?
18. Why does Sacred Scripture teach the truth?
19. How is Sacred Scripture to be read?
24. What role does Sacred Scripture play in the life of the Church?
277. How is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist carried out?
429. How does the Church nourish the moral life of a Christian?
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the foundations of Catholic faith. So, select one question a week (8-12 questions for the whole summer) to learn and memorize. Choose questions on topics that are of great interest, that you struggle with and want to understand better, or that you find arise in your classroom repeatedly.
Review the questions and answers.
Consider how to use them in the coming year as part of your lesson plan.
Develop learning activities that will encourage you and your students to learn the teaching by heart (memorization)
