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Icebreakers

By Catechist's Aide on August 17, 2017 0

It’s here already! Catechists are getting ready to start a new school year of Religious Education, and that means breaking out the icebreaker games.

Most first classes typically involve some kind of icebreaker activity to help the students get to know one another. A lot of these activities involve the student sharing personal information with the class, which can present a challenge for many middle school students who are self-conscious and may be reluctant to share sensitive or personal information with a new group of people.

Still, it’s important for the students to begin to build relationships with their classmates, and we typically start by learning each others’ names.

The following game, is an easy no-pressure activity, that you may want to try with your students.

Names in Motion

After explaining the rules to everyone, have all the students stand in a circle. One person is selected to start (or even better, the Catechist can lead off). He or she walks into the middle of the circle and states his or her name and then makes a gesture, such as

Clapping your hands twice
Snapping your fingers
Flipping your hair
Giving a “thumbs up” sign
Rubbing your belly
Bowing
Doing the “Thinker” pose

Countdown 1 … 2 … 3 and then everyone in the circle repeats the person’s name and the gesture. If the group is not too large, you may wish to go around the circle with each person repeating the name and performing the gesture.

The person standing in the middle returns to the circle, and then the Catechist can tap the next person to move to the center and state his/her name and perform a gesture. Rinse/repeat until everyone has introduced themselves.

What About Bathroom Breaks?

By Catechist's Aide on August 1, 2017 0

The topic of bathroom breaks will inevitably come up, so it’s best to have a policy in place from the start. Be sure to let your student know all of your class policies from the first day you meet and then follow up with an email to parents so that everyone is on the same page.

First, if you don’t know whether or not your Parish already has rules or policies in place regarding bathroom breaks during Religious Education classes, then, by all means, speak with the Director of Faith Formation and find out. He or she may also have great insight into what works or doesn’t work, so take advantage of them as a resource.

My problem with bathroom breaks is the interruption to the class when a student raises their hand to ask permission to go. I have found two solutions that have made this less of an ordeal – for the student, for the Catechist and for the rest of the class.

Use a Hall Pass. With middle school students, I have found them to be responsible enough to simply grab a “Hall Pass” that is kept at the front of the classroom, and excuse themselves. There is no need to ask permission, simply take the Pass and go – silently and without interrupting the rest of the class. The Hall Pass is returned to its original position when the student returns and is available for the next person who may need to go. I tell the students that the Pass is a privilege, and as such, can be taken away if it is abused. This process has worked very well for my classes. Abuse has been rare, in fact, most students appreciate skipping the embarrassment of having to ask permission, and thus use the Pass responsibly. Another reason that I like this option is that it gives the student a small bit of independence at an age where independence is highly valued. A few caveats: this may not be the best option if your class is very large or if you don’t have an Aide or parent volunteer to keep up with the student’s comings and goings. In some parishes (like mine) there are parents serving as Hall Monitors during class time. If you have the same arrangement in your Parish, then the Hall Pass solution may work for you.

Have a set time for a bathroom break. This will not completely put an end to disruptions in the middle of class, but it can cut the number way down. The biggest drawback to this option is that you are giving up valuable minutes of class time. Still, it may be worth sacrificing those minutes if it helps to provide a focused and attentive group of students for the remainder of the time. This option works well if your class time is longer than an hour and a half.

So there you have it – two options to consider when deciding on how to deal with bathroom breaks. I’m sure there are other more imaginative solutions out there as well. I would love to hear what works for you. Be sure to let me know in the Comments section.

A Prayer for America

By Catechist's Aide on July 4, 2017 0

In 1789, John Carroll was appointed the first Bishop in the newly formed United States of America. In November of 1791, Carroll wrote Prayer for Our Government. The full prayer can be found here. It certainly stands the test of time, and reminds us that we need to pray not only for the Church, the clergy and our elected leaders, but for each other as well.

We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Carroll’s prayer that we “may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give” are words that need to be heard and prayed today as fervently as they were 200 years ago.

Carroll’s influence in the growth and structure of the Catholic Chuch in this country cannot be understated. For more about his life and impact on the Church, read the words of Cardinal Timothy Dolan from an address honoring Carroll in 2008.

The Real Presence

By Catechist's Aide on June 20, 2017 0

You may be surprised to know that many young Catholics (and some adults) are completely unaware of what we mean when we refer to the “Real Presence.” Having just celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi, now is as good a time as any to discuss this fundamental Catholic doctrine with your students and children. It is one of the great Mysteries of our Faith in which we believe that Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist – body, blood, soul and divinity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” (CCC 1374)

The Youth Catechism very simply tells us,

“Christ is mysteriously but really present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.” (YOUCAT 216)

At Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the Offertory. Everything that we have comes from God, and this includes the offertory gifts of ordinary bread, water and wine. We offer these gifts back to God so that He will return them to us transformed – consecrated and extraordinary. This transformation happens during the Eucharistic Prayer when the priest, acting in the person of Christ, pronounces the words of consecration, “This is my body,” and “this is my blood.” The Church uses the word “Transubstantiation” to define what is happening here. It refers to the change in substance of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ, while maintaining their original appearance of ordinary bread and wine.

But, why does Christ offer himself to us as food?
We might begin our answer with another question: Why do we eat food? We eat food to sustain life, and to nourish our physical bodies. But we all know that one day our bodies will fail us and we will die. Jesus tells us that he is the living bread, which brings eternal life to those who receive it. The Eucharist does what no ordinary food can do. It sustains our spiritual life, and nourishes our souls. When we receive the Eucharist, we experience true communion with Christ. We share not only in his humanity – his body and blood, but in his divinity.

There is an old saying “You are what you eat.” St. Augustine said something similar when speaking about the Eucharist. To paraphrase, he said, “Receive what you are, and become what you receive.” These are good words to reflect on after receiving the Blessed Sacrament.

Veni Sancte Spiritus / Come Holy Spirit

By Catechist's Aide on June 1, 2017 0

As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost and the birthday of the Church, it’s a good time to consider a little more deeply who or what the Holy Spirit is, and what role he plays in our lives today. As a member of the Divine Trinity, we know that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force in the world, but a divine person. Beyond that, the Holy Spirit remains a mystery for many of us, and our use of imagery or symbols such as fire, the wind, a dove, etc. can confound our attempt to understand him fully.

Years ago I read an excerpt from Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s The Divine Romance that has stuck with me and led to a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Third Person of the Trinity. Sheen spoke of the love between the Father and the Son that is “so powerful, so strong, and so perfect, that it forms between them a living bond.”

Sheen continues:

“They give themselves in a love so infinite that, like the truth, which expresses itself only in the giving of a whole personality, their love can express itself in nothing less than a Person, who is Love.

Love at such a stage does not speak; does not cry; does not express itself by words, nor by canticles; it expresses itself as we do in some ineffable moments, by that which indicates the very exhaustion of our giving – namely, a sigh, or a breath. And that is why the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity is called the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost.”

What magnificent imagery for who the Holy Spirit is! Can we doubt the power of the Spirit when we view him in this way?

At Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out onto the Apostles transforming them from men who were alone and afraid, hidden away, into courageous men who boldly set out to proclaim the gospel of the Lord to the ends of the earth. There would be no more hiding in their lives. There would be no more fear.

The very same Spirit was poured out on us at our Baptism, and if we are open to his working within us, as the Apostles were, we too can be transformed.

Veni Sancte Spiritus. Come Holy Spirit.

Essential Tools – YOUCAT

By Catechist's Aide on May 31, 2017 0

I used to bring the Catechism of the Catholic Church to the first day of class, hold it up and announce to my students that this book, all 900+ pages, contains everything that we, as Catholics, believe. After reassuring the class that we would not be reading the book, I would then share with them the Table of Contents. I showed them that the Catechism is organized into four main parts, which are the pillars of the faith, the Creed, the Sacraments, the Commandments, and Prayer, which would be the focus of our studies. And that was pretty much the full extent of our use of the Catechism in the classroom. But, all that changed a few years ago when I stumbled across the YOUCAT, which presents the compendium of our faith to today’s youth, in a language and style that is understandable and above all, engaging.

I have found the YOUCAT invaluable, not only as resource material during my lesson preparation but to share directly with my students. The book is written in a Q&A style, like the old Baltimore Catechism, with additional commentary. Perhaps what I like best about the YOUCAT can be found in the margins, which are filled with relevant Scripture passages, definitions, and inspirational quotes from the saints and religious leaders.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote the foreword, and I think he sums up quite eloquently why this book is so important for young Catholics:

“You need to know what you believe. You need to know your faith with that same precision with which an IT specialist knows the inner workings of a computer. You need to understand it like a good musician knows the piece he is playing. Yes, you need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents so that you can engage the challenges and temptations of this time with strength and determination.” – Pope Benedict XVI