Mother, Teacher, Family: The Nature and Role of the Church
LESSON 10: CHOOSING LIFE
7. Methods & Strategies That Develop the Lesson:
a. Pass out slips of paper to all students. Ask each student to write the names of their family members on the piece of paper. (They may write either immedi-ate or extended family members’ names.) They should also include their own name. At the top or bottom, ask the students to write the name of one or two saints of the student’s choice and the invocation, “Pray for us.” (For example,
“Saint Francis and Saint Clare, Pray for us.”) The students may bring then bring the papers and place them underneath the cross (in the photo display area) or at the feet of the statue of Mary (symbolizing our asking her intercession also for our families). If you are teaching this lesson in a church or chapel, you may invite students to go to a statue of Mary (or other appropriate place) in the church to place their papers there.
b. Remind students: You and your family are invited to share in the Church’s mis-sion of bringing Jesus to the world. That begins in the family, but it also goes out—even to the ends of the earth. Here is a small snapshot of some ways the Catholic Church (and young people like you in it) brings Jesus’ love all over the world:
• Catholic Relief Services—Overview video [aimed at all Catholics]
• Catholic Family Missions Company (this organization helps entire fam-ilies as well as individual young adults to give through mission work) [aimed specifically at young people]
8. Conclusion & Reinforcement Closure::
a. Invite the students to reflect in their journals by answering these questions: (See Lesson 10 Handout)
• Living the mission of love in the family will mark us as different from others in our society. How will I help my family stand firm in that mission and grow in it?
• “To live [my] witness of love will require spiritual commitment and disci-pline, but [I] do not fear” (LIOM 206). How is the Church with me? How is the Lord with me?
• How has the Lord shown me that he is faithful to me?
• What fruit do I hope to bear by being faithful to him?
9. Closing Prayer:
Standing in front of the photos of the students’ families, with the Cross or image of Mary in the center, pray for the grace for all families to remain close to Christ and to become saints.
GRADES 9 - 12 LESSON 10: Choosing Life
77 Prayer for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, 2015
(as found in LIOM)
God and Father of us all,
in Jesus, your Son and our Savior, you have made us
your sons and daughters in the family of the Church.
May your grace and love help our families
in every part of the world be united to one another in fidelity to the Gospel.
May the example of the Holy Family, with the aid of your Holy Spirit,
guide all families, especially those most troubled, to be homes of communion and prayer
and to always seek your truth and live in your love.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us!
ADAPTATIONS If your time is limited:
Read the lesson content and key points to yourself, but just use the Lesson 10 Handout.
EVALUATION
Answer the following questions (from LIOM Part X Questions for Discussion) either through a class dialogue or through journal reflections.
1. In what way is a catechesis on the family actually a catechesis for the whole of life? In what ways do Catholic teachings about human nature, sex, marriage and the family connect with other aspects of life?
2. Do the values and habits in your [family or] community make it easier or harder to be Catholic? In your culture, are you free to be fully Catholic, or is there pressure to com-promise the faith? How can you participate in your culture while remaining faithful?
3. Does your family think of itself as a domestic church? What values are visible in the way your household lives? What steps can you take to be better missionaries?
4. What support does your family need from the Church? How can the Church help you?
How can you help the Church and other families?
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BRINGING THE LESSON HOME TO THE FAMILY
Option 1: Watch one or both of the videos (seen in class) with your family. Discuss your family mission to each other, to your parish, and to the world.
Option 2: Choose a family saint from one of the resources listed below. Read about that saint (and perhaps find a picture of the saint) and then share that saint’s life with your family. Dis-cuss your family mission to each other, to your parish, and to the world.
SUPPLEMENTAL RESOURCES
Students may enjoy learning more about married saints and their families. The following are some examples:
St. Gianna Molla, wife, mother, and doctor St. Joseph Moscati, doctor
St. Manuel Moralez, husband, father, political activist, martyr Bl. Giuseppe Tovini, husband, father, lawyer, politician
Bl. Franz Jagerstatter, husband, father, conscientious objector
Bl. Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, lay apostle, promoter of liturgical renewal Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, engineer, sportsman, lover of the poor, lay apostle Bl. Chiara Badano, teenager
Bl. Marcel Callo, worker, sportsman, martyr
Bl. Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi & Bl. Maria Corsini Quattrocchi, married couple, parents Bl. Louis and Zelie Martin, married couple, parents of St. Therese
Bl. Alberto Marvelli, sportsman, engineer, politician, lay apostle, lover of the poor Bl. Ivan Merz, scholar, teacher, lay apostle, promotor of liturgical renewal
Ven. Elisabeth Leseur, wife, lay apostle
Ven. Maria Theresa Gonzalez-Quevedo, teenager St. Thomas More, husband, father, lawyer, martyr
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