Venture - Pflaum Gospel Weeklies

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get even with someone they dislike by spreading false stories about the person. (5) Sum up for the students how they have improved their consciences with this exercise. They have studied Scripture, prayed about it, consulted their religion teacher and each other, and consulted Church teaching. (6) Conclude with this question: How does attending Mass regularly and attentively also help you develop a well-formed conscience? 3. What Is Virtue? page 30 Explain to the students that the Acts of the Apostles is one book in the Bible that’s full of stories about virtuous people. Read aloud the following passages and ask the students to identify two things about each passage: (1) the person or persons who are showing a virtue in action and (2) what virtues they are showing. The students doubtless will notice that sometimes two or three different virtues might be named. That’s because all the virtues are closely related to one another. All concern some form of love for self, God, or neighbor. Passage Virtuous Person(s) Their Virtue(s) Acts 7:54-60 Stephen hope Acts 11:27-30 disciples in Antioch justice, charity, prudence Acts 4:18-20 Peter and John prudence, fortitude Acts 9:10-17 Ananias faith, hope, love Acts 20:16-18, Paul 32-34 temperance 4. What Is Sin? page 31 Your students should memorize the three conditions necessary for mortal sin. Write them on the chalkboard or on newsprint, discuss them, and have students memorize them. A sin is mortal when it (1) involves a serious matter; (2) is committed by someone fully aware of the evil of the sin; and (3) is committed with someone’s full consent. 5. Why Is Working for the Common Good Important? page 32 (1) Have students form pairs. (2) Give each pair a Bible and one or two old magazines. (3) Each pair should find one picture of human suffering that grabs their attention. (4) Each should find one or two Scripture passages that show what God says we should do about the type of suffering pictured. Skimming through the <strong>Gospel</strong>s, the Epistles, and the books of the prophets should give students the material they need. (5) As the students work, circulate among them to help out where needed. Have a Bible concordance handy. (6) End by having the pairs take turns sharing their pictures and Bible passages with the rest of the class. For more teaching ideas on this subject, order from Chicago’s Eighth Day Center for Justice a useful publication showing the similarities between Catholic social teaching and the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Call 312-641-5151 or visit http://www.8thdaycenter.org. 6. How Are God’s Law and God’s Grace Connected? page 32 (1) On separate slips of paper, copy from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s <strong>Gospel</strong> teachings of Jesus that have two parts. Copy each part of the message on a separate slip of paper. Copy enough so that there is one passage for each student in the group. These passages would be sufficient for eighteen students to use: 5:21 and 5:22; 5:27 and 5:28; 5:31 and 5:32; 5:33 and 5:34; 5:38 and 5:39; 5:43 and 5:44; 6:2 and 6:3; 6:5 and 6:6; 6:19 and 6:20. (2) Have each student draw a slip of paper from a bowl. (3) Tell students that each person has only one-half of a complete teaching of Jesus. They are to talk to others in their group to find the missing half. As soon as each person finds his or her match, the pair should sit down together and wait for the other students to finish. (4) One pair at a time, have students stand up and share with the class their complete Bible passage. Briefly discuss with the class the meaning of each passage after it is read. (5) Conclude by stressing that following Jesus is difficult. That’s why he says following him requires picking up a cross. However, the grace and strength that we get from reading the Bible and receiving the sacraments make us strong enough to carry this cross of discipleship. 7. The Ten Commandments Are for Everyone, page 32 (1) Ask students to identify which three Commandments relate to loving God and which seven, to loving neighbor. (They are, respectively, the first three and the remaining seven.) (2) Then tell the group you are going to read aloud a series of statements. They are to tell which Commandment in some way relates to each statement. (3) Here are the statements to use along with their corresponding Commandments. • The day of the week when Jesus rose from the dead deserves special prayer and celebration. (Third Commandment) • We need to respect our own bodies and the bodies of others because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. (Sixth Commandment) • The names of God and the saints should never be used as part of a curse or as an expression of surprise, anger, or disgust. (Second Commandment) • People running for public office should always tell the truth in their campaign speeches. (Eighth Commandment) 12
• Obeying your parents is how you show respect for them. (Fourth Commandment) • It is wrong to want to marry someone who is already someone else’s husband or wife. (Ninth Commandment) • It is wrong to think of money as more important than God. (First Commandment) • It is wrong to either intentionally or unintentionally take the life of another person. (Fifth Commandment) • Copying someone else’s schoolwork is a form of stealing—not just from that person, but from the whole class. (Seventh Commandment) • It is wrong to hate someone else just because he or she is richer than you are. (Tenth Commandment) 8. What Does the New Law Ask of Us? page 36 (1) Explain that the Beatitudes teach us to see negatives as positives, knowing that God will set everything right in the end. (2) Ask students to write their own beatitudes. Here are some beginnings to get them started. • Blessed are they who give away their birthday money, for… • Blessed are they who are mocked when they stick up for a friend, for… • Blessed are they who rake a lawn without wanting pay, for… • Blessed are they who don’t get angry when their team loses, for… • Blessed are they who solve problems with words instead of fists, for… • Blessed are they who forgive someone who ruins their possessions, for… • Blessed are they who don’t watch smutty TV shows, for… • Blessed are they who don’t play gory videogames, for… 9. What Are the Precepts of the Church? page 37 Ask these questions to measure your students’ understanding of the precepts. • Which precept shows the importance of not letting a whole year pass by without receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood? (3) • Which precept helps the parish pay its heating and lighting bills? (5) • Which precept calls us to a weekly remembrance of Jesus’ Resurrection? (1) • Which precept helps us remember that we can never say we are perfect and no longer need God’s forgiveness? (2) • Which precept helps us grow in the self-discipline we need to carry our crosses and follow Jesus? (4) 10. Why Are Church Leaders Important? page 37 (1) Point out that the infallibility of Church leaders concerns only matters of faith and morals. A pope cannot speak infallibly on matters of math, science, art, and so on. (2) How well do students know the Church’s teachings? Below are some questions about faith and morals. They will be used in a game. (3) Form two teams, and have each team sit together on either side of the room facing the chalkboard or a sheet of newsprint. (4) For each team, designate a spokesperson, whose name you write at the top of the board or newsprint. (5) Alternate asking the two teams the following questions, each of which has a “yes” or “no” answer, along with the number of the paragraph of the Catechism where the answer can be found. The Catechism citation is just for your own reference; you need not share it with students. (6) Each time a spokesperson answers correctly, give his or her team a point. The winning team is the one with the most points when you run out of questions. • Does every human being have a right to religious freedom? Yes (CCC 2108) • Is it ever right to do unnecessary work on a Sunday? No (2185) • Is it the duty of a Christian family to care for its sick and elderly? Yes (2208) • Must parents respect their children? Yes (2222) • Is it ever right to skip voting after you are old enough to vote? No (2240) • Should rich countries share some of their wealth with poor countries? Yes (2241) • Is it always wrong to kill someone, even when it’s done in self-defense? No (2264) • Does everyone in society have a right to health care? Yes (2288) • Is it sinful to drive a car at dangerous speeds? Yes (2290) • Is it a sin to torture a prisoner in a time of war? Yes (2298, 2313) • Is it all right for a country to buy more weapons than it could ever possibly use? No (2315) • Is it against the moral law to have more than one husband or wife at a time? Yes (2387) • Is it all right to live together before getting married? No (2391) • Should Christians be kind to animals? Yes (2416) • Is it all right to pay a worker a wage too small to live on? No (2428, 2434) • Do people have a right to accurate news reporting from the media? Yes (2494) • Is it all right for radio and TV personalities to preach hatred of certain individuals or groups? No (2497) • Is it wrong to wear revealing clothes? Yes (2521) • Is greed good? No (2552) 13
Page 1 and 2: Teaching Strategies What the Church
Page 3 and 4: What the Church Believes and Teache
Page 5 and 6: Welcome to the Pflaum Gospel Weekli
Page 7 and 8: and have them share their list with
Page 9 and 10: 15. What Are the Marks of the Churc
Page 11: If there are any deacons in your ar
Page 15: Our Father, who art in heaven—We

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