The Year of Faith and Young People - Cafod

The Year of Faithand Young PeopleTo view this document as an interactive PDF with links tothe resources, go to cafod.org.uk/yearoffaithThe Year of FaithIn 2011, Pope Benedict XVI announced that there would be a Year of Faith,beginning on 11 October 2012, and concluding on 24 November 2013, the feastof Christ the King.During this year, all Catholics are encouraged to reflect on what their faithmeans to them, and to develop their faith. It is also the year marking thefiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, and thetwentieth anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.The Year of Faith encourages the worldwide Church to produce resourcesand hold events which help focus our learning and prayer on scripture,on the Catechism, and the documents of Vatican II, particularly the fourconstitutions Dei Verbum, Lumen Gentium, Sacrosanctum Concilium, andGaudium et Spes.CAFOD and the Year of FaithWe share in Pope Benedict XVI’s hope that, during this time, Catholicsthroughout the world will take the opportunity to appreciate the gift of faith,deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment tosharing their faith with others.Faith and justice are inextricably linked. As Pope Benedict XVI states in hisapostolic letter introducing the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei or The Door to Faith,“Faith and charity each require the other, in such a way that each allows theother to set out along its respective path.” (PF paragraph 14). For more thanfifty years, faith and charity have driven CAFOD’s work for justice, changingthe lives of people both in the UK and in developing countries around theworld.Young people and the Year of FaithThere are many ways that young people can be involved with the Year ofFaith, and become truly inspired by our shared faith. To find out about eventsand resources, visit cymfed.org.uk/yof.For one part of your Year of Faith activities this year, why not use someCAFOD materials to bring alive the justice element to your faith? We havehighlighted a range of resources which each have a specific faith component,whether that is through scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, prayer or the livesof saints. Links to all these resources can be found atcafod.org.uk/yearoffaith.“By faith, countless Christianshave promoted action for justiceso as to put into practice theword of the Lord, who cameto proclaim deliverance fromoppression and a year of favourfor all. (cf. Lk 4:18-19)Porta Fidei, paragraph 13The joys and the hopes, thegriefs and the anxieties of thepeople of this age, especiallythose who are poor or in anyway afflicted, these are thejoys and hopes, the griefs andanxieties of the followers ofChrist.Gaudium et Spes, paragraph 1Never has the human raceenjoyed such an abundanceof wealth, resources andeconomic power, and yet a hugeproportion of the world’s citizensare still tormented by hungerand poverty, while countlessnumbers suffer from totalilliteracy.Gaudium et Spes, paragraph 4

Or if you’re inspired, write the rest of the prayer.Ideas and activitiesIn schoolShow the Fullness of Life animation on screens in your corridors or schoolentrance for a week… Celebrate the life of Oscar Romero on the anniversaryof his death on 24 March, and learn about saints who are important toCAFOD… Bring a faith slant to World Environment Day on 5 June with theClimate Change photopack, the Creation and Stewardship unit forpost-16s or the Catholic Social Teaching and Creation workshop…Fullness of Life animationFind out What’s so Catholic about CAFOD?... Learn more about the Churchteachings that CAFOD is built upon with Faith in Action or the Poverty Unitfor post-16s… Tackle peace and conflict from a Catholic perspective withextracts from the Community Cohesion unit and quotes from Pope Paul VI.In youth groupsWhen examining the Creed, explore being part of ‘one, holy, catholic andapostolic church’ with the What is Church? activities and Global Churchpresentation… Celebrate World Water Day on 22 March by refreshing yourunderstanding of water within scripture and Church teaching… Engage inthe challenge of your role as a Christian in today’s world…Oscar Romero PowerpointEmbrace your dramatic side with Degrees of Change to get a personal takeon climate change and faith… Have a movie night and watch ‘Romero’ (1989)then discuss it over a shared meal (your local CAFOD office may be able tolend you a copy). Watch the Heart speaks unto heart films and do some ofthe accompanying activities (see middle pages of this guide).What is Church?Picture this (10 minutes)Confirmation resourcesOn retreatsCreative contemporary prayer with the Global Justice Prayer Stations,the Care of Creation liturgy, or the Sheep and Goats reflection… Run aretreat on food and the Eucharist, using food within scripture and Churchteaching as your inspiration… Include baking and sharing bread then whynot get the young people to work together to prepare a meal while you’re atit…You will need: Several large sheets of paper, written, until somebody guesses correctly. Gomarker pens, small pieces of paper with words through this process as many times as you wish,written on (see below)however the last piece of paper should read ‘Church’.Depending on the size of your group, The young people drawing will more than likelyyou may want to play this alldraw a building, possibly with a steeple and atogether, or split into smaller cross on it. Engage them in a discussion aboutgroups and play against what their church looks like and how accurate theeach other.picture is. You may wish to ask the following:Play a short game• How did you know it was a church?of ‘Pictionary’. In • Does it look like our church?advance, you willneed to write down• Why did you decide to draw it like that?objects, actions, • What is missing from the picture?places or peopleon the smallWhat pieces of paper. is Church?Leaders’ notesFor example, ‘teapot’, ‘dancing’, ‘Paris’, ‘CristianoRonaldo’ as well as some theme-specific wordsUse the words ‘the Church’ or ‘Church’, rathersuch as ‘bishop’, ‘Holy Spirit’ or ‘Confirmation’.than ‘a church’. This encourages discussionShow the chosen subject to a volunteer (or onearound the idea that people are church,person from each team). They must draw therather than just the building.subject, without using words, either spoken orRun an auction of the Gifts of the Spirit, having used these notes linkingConfirmation and justice to prepare… Base a retreat around John 10:10 andhuman dignity, kicking off discussion with our Fullness of Life animation…What is Church? (20 min)You will need: paper, pens, print copies orPowerPoint of ‘What is Church?’ pictures and themeans to show it, ‘What is Church?’ factsheet ifdesiredGive the groups a few minutes to come up witha definition (maximum of 30 words) of ‘church’. Itmay help to ask them the following:Show the various pictures from the ‘What isChurch?’ PowerPoint to the group. Ask them toguess which country the image is from and what ishappening. Use the background information in theslide notes to explain the context for the imagesand answer any questions.Liturgical yearStations of the Cross to use during Lent… Prayers for Easter andPentecost as well as a Pentecost liturgy... Swot up on your scripture withthese justice related quotes… Celebrate the saints throughout the year withthe saints prayer cards.• What is the difference between ‘a church’and ‘Church’?• How big is our ‘Church’? Is it just in Englandor Wales?• How do you know this?Browse, save, edit or print resources from the CAFOD website at cafod.org.uk/youth-leaders© CAFOD 2010 Registered charity no. 285776Sheep and Goats“The Church encompasses withlove all who are afflicted withhuman suffering and in the poorand afflicted sees the image ofits poor and suffering Founder.It does all it can to relieve theirneed and in them it strives toserve Christ.Lumen Gentium, paragraph 8“To pray is to include”(Orar es incluir)This is on a poster in a health clinic in El Salvador.ACTIONLook at the prayer wall.On the paper are starts of prayers by differentpeople.Have a look and read some of them.Global justicePrayer stationsSolidarity wallGlobal Justice PrayerPRAYERChoose one of the prayers that has been started.Add your own line or two to the prayer,joining your prayer with that of others.

Read the documents• Porta Fidei (The Door of Faith), Pope Benedict XVI, 2011• Dei Verbum (The Word of God), on Divine Revelation, Vatican II, 1965• Lumen Gentium (The Light of the Nations), on the Church, Vatican II, 1964• Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Sacred Council), on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican II, 1963• Gaudium et Spes (The Joys and Hopes), on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican II, 1965• Catechism of the Catholic Church or YOUCAT, the youth catechismHelpful websites with Year of Faith content:• Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFed)• The Vatican and its specific Year of Faith site• The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and WalesFaith Storymore faith stories at cafod.org.ukWhen I went to St John’s SportsSociety in Korogocho Slum Kenya,Father John said to me ‘we donot believe in an almighty and allpowerful God but one who walksbeside us every day.’ I came to therealisation that although people ofthe same faith can be all over theworld, how they interpret God andhow they use faith in their lives canbe different.The strength of the people ofKorogocho’s faith made me awareof the power of faith and that itwill never leave you even in yourdeepest, darkest, most challengingparts of life.That experience made me moreaware of my faith and how, despiteme never having such extremechallenges as those faced by peoplein Korogocho, God is always there forme no matter what.Talking at Flame in Wembley Arenawas a fantastic way for me tosee young people come togetherbecause of their faith and to not beashamed of it.To me, faith is about realising yourinner strength and that God is therefor you whenever you need him. Ithink faith changes how you perceivelife and how your actions, no matterhow little, can make a difference.Faith is nothing to be embarrassedabout.Faith is loving like a best friend. Ifyou are in any trouble you can talkto God to help restore your strength.Faith can be challenging – beforemy trip I was not really sure what Ibelieved in. Seeing other people andtheir faith helped give me guidancewith my own belief and mademe realise that my actions werepartly based on the impact faithhas on me. Faith is like a parent:no matter what you do and even ifyou are slightly off the path, it willnever leave you and will love youunconditionally regardless of yourmistakes.For me faith is something I donot always think about. However,when I do think about it, I can seehow much it has shaped me as aperson, what I do and what I wantto achieve in life. It provides a senseof fulfilment and allows you toexplore yourself as a person, learnwho you are and what you standfor. I think it allows me to be moreconfident in myself and providesme with a sense of belongingand a community I can always bepart of and share my life storieswith without fear of judgement orcriticism. Like Martin Luther KingJr. said, ‘faith is taking the first stepeven when you don’t see the wholestaircase.’ It’s having the strengthand confidence to believe despitethe fear that it is something deemedas the ‘unknown’. Faith can fulfil lifeso much more once you do believe.Holly, 17, is a student at OaklandsCatholic High School in thePortsmouth Diocese. She went withthree others to visit St John’s SportsSociety, a CAFOD-funded project inKorogocho, one of Kenya’s largestslums, which uses sport to bring thecommunity together.IMAGE: Holly in Korogocho, nearNairobi, Kenya.cafod.org.ukCAFOD is the official aid agencyof the Catholic Church in Englandand Wales.Registered Charity No. 285776CAF 2543CAFOD, Romero House,55 Westminster Bridge Road,London SE1 7JB020 7733 7900youth@cafod.org.ukPrinted on 100% recycled paper.Photography: Thomas Omondi,Annie Bungeroth, Emma Clark,Contrapositive

Heart speaks unto heartThe ‘Heart speaks unto heart’ films were created for the Papal Vigil inLondon, one of the key moments of the UK Papal Visit in 2010. Featuringmen, women and children from across the UK, the films demonstrate the richvariety of ways in which everyday people live out their Catholic faith, anddiscuss what their faith means to them.We are revisiting these three, short films in the Year of Faith, as a startingpoint for discussion and reflection with young people. They can be usedindividually, or as a suite addressing a variety of topics. The three films, andmany more, are available on our YouTube channel CAFODtv.ActivityUse the questions below to begina conversation about faith. Givepeople time to reflect individuallyfirst – maybe making notes ordrawing symbols, then invite themto share their ideas with others.• What does your faith meanto you? How does it affect yourdaily life – your choices, yourrelationships, your outlook? Is yourfaith visible/tangible to others?• Where did your faith come from?Who have been the key people, whathave been the key moments thathave formed you?• How would you describe havingfaith to someone who’s never heardof it before?• What do you want to strengthenin your faith? What things can youdo to help this?Additional resourcesSupplement the group conversationwith the testimonies of youngpeople involved with CAFOD whoshare something of their own faithand life, like Holly (see back of thisguide).“Key quotes from the film:“My faith is part of me, ineverything I do.”“I’ve got cancer that’sincurable, and I feel myfaith just lifts me up andkeeps me going, I couldn’tlive without it. I’ve got nofear because I’m so closeto God.”“When times are good, itgives me hope; when timesare troubled, I get somecomfort from it.”“When we have faith, webelieve in God and we have”to support other people.”

ActivityUse the first two quotes (right) tokick-start a conversation aboutrespect, self-respect and dignity.Think about questions like:• What is respect? Where doesrespect come from? Do we earn itor do we all have it naturally? Whatdoes modern society say about this?• Are there different kinds ofrespect? What are they like andwhy?• How does God see us? How doesthis compare with how we seeourselves?• What does our faith say aboutthis? Read: Genesis 1:27,31, John13:34, Luke 19:1-10. Gaudiumet Spes paragraph 27. YOUCATquestion 330.Use the third and fourth quotes toexplore the idea of community.Start by brainstorming the word‘community’, then set small groupsthe challenge of identifying thevalues and behaviours of the idealcommunity. Think about:• What does community mean toyou? What does it mean to belong?• How far do you agree that thereis a relationship between justiceand belonging? Can you have justiceif your community is divided orseparated? Why/why not?• Is there justice in your local(school/parish/geographical etc)community? Why/why not? Whatcan you do about it?• How might yo u build acommunity? Think about whobelongs, what you do together(the quote, right, talks about ‘beingcounted’) and what values orpractices are important. Considerhow you actually make this work – isthere one key leader, lots of leadersor no leader, for example?• What does our faith say aboutthis? Read: Luke 10:25-37, Matthew18:20, Gaudium et Spes paragraph 1.Use the final quote to host a debateabout charity justice – with sidessupporting and challenging the ideaof giving our things as a matter offairness. Think about:• Who is the ‘we’ that he refers to?Where are ‘we’?• Who is the ‘them’ he refers to?Where are ‘they’? How do we knowwho ‘they’ are? Why would theyneed or want ‘our’ things?• Why is it fair to give our things, asopposed to kind or generous? Whydo ‘we’ have them and ‘they’ do not?• What does our faith say aboutthis? Read: James 2:15-16, Luke6:20-26, Matthew 25:31-40.Additional resourcesExplore how the work of our partnerin Zambia with people living with HIVand AIDS helps maintain and builddignity. Short film: We are CAFOD:We are changing lives.cafod.org.uk/yearoffaith“Key quotes from the film:“Working for justice isimportant, because Ibelieve everybody needs tobe treated with respect.”“We look at each other asequal and give each otherself-respect.”“If you build a communitythat’s trying to be acommunity of justice,then it’s got to be acommunity that’s going tobe counted.”“Having a communitywhere you put everyone intogether is justice in itselfbecause you belong.”“It’s fair to give them”some things we have.”

ActivityUse the first quote (right) aboutloving one another to have a quickdiscussion about the nature of love.• What does it mean to lovesomeone? When is loving someoneeasy or hard?• How do we love someone who wedo not like?• How do we love people we do notknow?• What does our faith say aboutthis? Read: Matthew 5:43-48,1 Corinthians 13:1-8a, 1 John 3:18,John 3:16.The second quote refers to a famousprayer by St Teresa of Avila.Read the prayer with your group,maybe project it or print copiesso that everyone can properly seeit. Invite people to reflect quietlyby themselves, then discuss withothers:• What does this prayer mean? Howdoes it make you feel?• What does it ask us to do? Howdo we do this? What do you do,specifically, within your life to dothis?• What helps us/holds us back?Read out Matthew 25:32-45 andusing flipchart paper, get smallgroups to identify examples of thehungry, thirsty, strangers, sick and inprison, naked in our local and globalcommunity. Then, challenge themto come up with practical ways thatthey can be ‘Christ’s hands’ in thesesituations. They can use examplesfrom the film clip to start theconversation.Additional resources‘We are one body’ activity fromGlobal Justice Prayer StationsFinish the session with prayer, usingthe Sheep and goats reflection.Christ has no bodyChrist has no body but yours,No hands, no feet on earthbut yours,Yours are the eyes with whichhe looks compassionon this world,Yours are the feet with whichhe walks to do good,Yours are the hands, withwhich he blesses all the world.Yours are the hands,yours are the feet,Yours are the eyes,you are his body.Christ has no body nowbut yours,No hands, no feet on earthbut yours,Yours are the eyes with whichhe looks compassionon this world.Christ has no body nowon earth but yours.“Key quotes from the film:“Jesus told us to love oneanother and that’s whatI try to do. We don’t haveto like everyone, but we dohave to love them.”“Somebody far wiser thanI came up with this sayingthat Jesus has no hands”but ours.”cafod.org.uk/yearoffaith