During most of March, we continue our Lenten journey as we follow Jesus from his adult ministry through his entry into Jerusalem and the Triduum celebration. As one of the three penitential practices, prayer can be easily done in classroom and home settings by children and adults of all ages.
This issue of To Teach provides ideas and strategies to immerse ourselves more deeply into the prayer practices of the Church that lead us into the profound mystery of the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ.
Schedule a Holy Hour to educate your students on this wonderful liturgical practice.
Review the traditional practice of Eucharistic Adoration with your school board and faculty members. Provide them and parents with a schedule for Eucharistic Adoration in the surrounding parishes.
Arrange for local priests to be available for a day or two during the last weeks of Lent to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with students and faculty members. Post the available dates and times throughout the school.
Place a copy of the Authentic Jesus Bulletin Insert in your March school mailing or newsletter to parents. This insert presents authentic Catholic teaching about Jesus and his divinity, the Bible, Gnostic gospels, women and the Church and other important topics in a convenient question-and-answer format. It counters popular portrayals of Jesus Christ that directly challenge what the Church teaches. For further information, include a copy of the brochure or bulletin insert entitled Jesus and the Jews.
Play the audio recording of the daily readings as part of your morning announcements. Post the link to the New American Bible daily readings as a podcast at your school's Web site.
Begin class with the Way of the Cross. This brief and inspiring version of the final steps of Jesus juxtaposes the lives of Catholic heroes past and present whose actions give testimony to the power of faith over injustice with traditional scriptural citations.
Devote one class session to the practice of Eucharistic Adoration. At the conclusion of the class provide students with prayer cards using the Prayers Before the Blessed Sacrament and encourage them to consider participating in Adoration as a Lenten offering.
Create a quiz game for your students using the questions and answers found in Thirty-One Questions on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Divide them into groups, allow some time for them to review the resource, and then play the game.
Clarify any questions that your young people may have about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Provide students with a copy of How to Go to Confession which contain all of the steps for confession in easy-to-read language and includes the prayer of the penitent. Other useful resources include Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance and Penitential Practices for Today's Catholics. Encourage students to participate in the Sacrament sometime during the Lenten season.
Play the audio recording of the daily readings as part of your class prayer. Encourage your students' parents to subscribe to the New American Bible daily readings as a podcast and listen to and pray with the readings throughout Lent and Holy Week.
Explore the meaning of Passover and its significance to Christians and Jews with the video or DVD version of Walking God's Paths from the Catholic Communication Campaign (CCC). Use this video as an introduction to a class session on Passover or Holy Thursday.
Invite your family to take time each evening during Lent for prayer and reflection using Night Prayer. This resource is from the Liturgy of the Hours and offers the last prayer of the day together with hymns and psalmody, Scripture readings, and gospel canticles.
Prior to Holy Week, discuss as a family the Church’s position on the Passion and death of Christ using The Bible, the Jews, and the Death of Jesus or Jesus and the Jews to prepare for the discussion. These resource reflect the Church's position on the events and ethnicities surrounding the Passion and death of Christ—and its reproval of hatred and persecution of any form.
Use these prayers and reflections once a week at the family dinner table to “break open” the readings and themes of the Lenten season.
Read the Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2008 as you continue your family's Lenten journey.
View the daily video reflections from a priest, deacon, or lay person from around the country as they share their thoughts on the daily Scripture readings.
Create 14 “questions of the day” using Fourteen Questions on the Paschal Triduum. Pose a question a day for discussion at the family dinner table during the 2 weeks before the Triduum.
If your family is not able to attend your parish’s Stations of the Cross, pray the Scriptural stations at home. As another option, choose one day of the week during the Lenten season fast as a family from dinner and use that time to pray the stations.
"Forming Adult Faith" is a new feature of To Teach. It 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.
Chapter 3: Proclaim the Gospel to Every Creature (Mk 16:15)
Chapter 7: The Good News: God Has Sent His Son
Chapter 8. The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ
Both individuals and groups—a full staff or a grade level gathering—can use the following suggestions. Most suggestions can be completed in 10-15 minutes.
In a journal, write the three discussion questions on a separate page. During the week, read one section of one chapter each day, then reread and respond to the discussion questions each day, noting any new insights or reflections. At the end of the week, review your overall reflection. Share your insights with a colleague, your spouse, or a close friend.
Begin your reflection with the prayer. After reading one section of chapter, reflect on and jot down any new insights you have gained regarding the prayer and the paschal mystery of Jesus' death and Resurrection.
"Compendium Corner" is also a new feature of To Teach. It 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).
79. What is the Good News for humanity?
80. How is the Good News spread?
104. What does the hidden life of Jesus in Nazareth teach us?
105. Why did Jesus receive from John the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3)?
106. What do we learn from the temptations of Jesus in the desert?
111. How did the messianic entrance into Jerusalem come about?
112. What is the importance of the Paschal Mystery of Jesus?
115. What was the attitude of Jesus toward the temple in Jerusalem?
117. Who is responsible for the death of Jesus?
118. Why was the death of Jesus part of God's plan?
119. In what way did Christ offer himself to the Father?
120. How is Jesus’ offering expressed at the Last Supper?
122. What are the results of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross?
123. Why does Jesus call upon his disciples to take up their cross?
