6683 TOB Gr6-8
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THE<br />
EVERYDAY<br />
THEOLOGY<br />
OF THE<br />
BODY<br />
A Guide for<br />
Infusing Christian<br />
Anthropology into<br />
6th–8th Grade<br />
Religion Classrooms<br />
SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
THE<br />
EVERYDAY<br />
THEOLOGY<br />
OF THE<br />
BODY<br />
A Guide for<br />
Infusing Christian<br />
Anthropology for<br />
6th-8th Grade<br />
Religion Classrooms
About Sophia Institute for Teachers<br />
Sophia Institute for Teachers was launched in 2013 by Sophia Institute to renew and rebuild<br />
Catholic culture through service to Catholic education. With the goal of nurturing the spiritual,<br />
moral, and cultural life of souls, and an abiding respect for the role and work of teachers, we<br />
strive to provide materials and programs that are at once enlightening to the mind and ennobling<br />
to the heart; faithful and complete, as well as useful and practical. Sophia Institute is a<br />
501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1983.<br />
©2022, Sophia Institute for Teachers<br />
All rights reserved. Portions of this publication may be photocopied and/or reproduced within<br />
schools for educational use only. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use<br />
or reproduce any part of this book outside a school in any medium.<br />
Printed in the United States of America<br />
Design by Perceptions Design Studio<br />
The Everyday Theology of the Body<br />
ISBN: 978-1-64413-668-3
CONTENTS<br />
Acknowledgments ....................................................................2<br />
GRADE 6<br />
Lesson 1: Our Bodies and Creation ................................................4<br />
Lesson 2: The Fall of Our Bodies ..................................................7<br />
Lesson 3: Theology of the Body in the Story of Noah ...............................10<br />
Lesson 4: Abraham and Hagar and The Sacrifice of Isaac ...........................14<br />
Lesson 5: Theology of the Body in the Story of Moses .............................. 17<br />
Lesson 6: The Story of David – David Defeats Goliath and David’s Sin with Bathsheba ....21<br />
Lesson 7: Theology of the Body Principles Revealed in the New Covenant ............26<br />
GRADE 7<br />
Lesson 1: The Word Became Flesh: What God Becoming Man<br />
means for the Body and for Gender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32<br />
Lesson 2: The Signs and Wonders of Jesus: How the Miracles of Jesus<br />
give Meaning to the Human Body and Gender ...........................36<br />
Lesson 3: The Paschal Mystery: What it Teaches Us about<br />
Christian Anthropology and Human Sexuality ...........................41<br />
Lesson 4: The Spousal Meaning of the Sacraments .................................47<br />
Lesson 5: Discipleship: Following Christ Means Living His Teachings on Sexuality .....55<br />
Lesson 6: Purity and Chastity ...................................................62<br />
Lesson 7: Prayer and Spirituality: How the Body is Essential to Prayer ...............69<br />
GRADE 8<br />
Lesson 1: We are Body and Soul .................................................72<br />
Lesson 2: The Universal Call to Holiness ..........................................74<br />
Lesson 3: Created Male and Female ..............................................77<br />
Lesson 4: God’s Plan for Human Sexuality ........................................82<br />
Lesson 5: Offenses against Chastity Part 1 ........................................87<br />
Lesson 6: Offenses against Chastity Part 2 ........................................91<br />
Lesson 7: Mercy and Redemption ................................................95<br />
Appendix : Resources for Parents ...............................................103<br />
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS<br />
1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<br />
Authors<br />
John Bement<br />
Bishop Guertin High School<br />
Nashua, NH<br />
Joseph G. Breslin<br />
The Heights School<br />
Germantown, MD<br />
Maria Cossell<br />
Roncalli High School<br />
Indianapolis, IN<br />
Donna Maus<br />
St. Mary’s-Colgan Catholic High School<br />
Pittsburg, KS<br />
Catherine Petrie<br />
Our Lady of the Holy Land Parish<br />
St. Peter, WI<br />
Sister Mary Rose Reddy, DMML<br />
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School<br />
Rochester, NH<br />
Talia Westerby<br />
Homeschool Educator<br />
Menomonee Falls, WI<br />
Contributors<br />
A. J. Benjamin<br />
Kelly Vardakas<br />
Editors<br />
Veronica Burchard<br />
Jose Gonzalez<br />
Michael Gutzwiller<br />
Ethan O’Connor<br />
Copy Editors and Proofreaders<br />
Amy Green<br />
Terry Leger<br />
Illustrators<br />
Mary MacArthur<br />
Dana Regan<br />
Design<br />
Perceptions Design Studio<br />
Amherst, NH<br />
Janet Wigoff<br />
Secondary Theology Teacher (Ret.)<br />
Archdiocese of Philadelphia<br />
A Note on Standards<br />
Each mini-lesson in this guide contains references to relevant Catechism of the Catholic<br />
Church paragraph numbers, as well as relevant standards from the Standards for Christian<br />
Anthropology: Based on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body Teachings, published by The<br />
Cardinal Newman Society and Ruah Woods Press. Note that while several mini-lessons may<br />
connect to standards in multiple grade levels, only grade-level connections are noted here.<br />
2 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
GRADE 6<br />
MINI-LESSONS<br />
——————— • • • ———————<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Lesson 1: Our Bodies and Creation<br />
Lesson 2: The Fall of Our Bodies<br />
Lesson 3: Theology of the Body in the Story of Noah<br />
Lesson 4: Abraham and Hagar and The Sacrifice of<br />
Isaac<br />
Lesson 5: Theology of the Body in the Story of Moses<br />
Lesson 6: The Story of David – David Defeats Goliath<br />
and David’s Sin with Bathsheba<br />
Lesson 7: Theology of the Body Principles Revealed<br />
in the New Covenant<br />
3
MINI-LESSON 1<br />
Our Bodies and Creation<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 355–373<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.1.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Exhibit wonder<br />
and awe at the generosity of<br />
God in the gifts of His abundant<br />
and beautiful creation.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 2-3, 13:2; CCC 293-<br />
295, 341) 6.3.3 Discuss why<br />
it is a good thing that God<br />
created man as male and<br />
female.<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Man occupies a unique place in creation — created in the<br />
image of God and established in His friendship, he is the<br />
only visible creature able to know and love his Creator. God<br />
created mankind for its own sake, and only he is called to<br />
share in God’s own life. It is for this reason that God made<br />
man and woman: to share in His life for all of eternity. Men<br />
and women were created together and willed for the other.<br />
This truth reveals that men and women are called to live in<br />
communion, echoing the communion of the three Persons<br />
of the Most Holy Trinity. Made in His image, our bodies<br />
reveal who God is, our approach to the body needs to be<br />
one of wonder and awe. When we can approach the body<br />
with this wonder and awe, we begin to see the image of<br />
God in us and others.<br />
God created everything for man, and in turn man is<br />
created to serve and love God, and to offer creation back<br />
to Him. The earth is meant to benefit all people, sustaining<br />
and developing life. In light of this reality, we all have a<br />
responsibility to be stewards of God’s creation and to care<br />
for the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image,<br />
after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish<br />
of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the<br />
wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.<br />
God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he<br />
created them; male and female he created them.<br />
— GENESIS 1:26–27<br />
The man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and<br />
flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out<br />
of man this one has been taken.”<br />
— GENESIS 2:23<br />
4 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Wonder and Awe<br />
You will need: one piece of notebook paper per student.<br />
A. Begin by having students take out a blank piece of notebook paper and asking them to<br />
write a detailed paragraph about a time they experienced wonder and awe. Examples<br />
may include a beautiful sunset, a view from a mountain, witnessing a sibling being<br />
born, and so forth.<br />
B. When they have finished writing, call on students to share about their experiences.<br />
Lead a discussion about why their experiences were full of awe and wonder. How did<br />
their experiences reveal God?<br />
Activity #2: The Creation of Adam<br />
A. Begin by projecting an image of Michelangelo’s fresco, The Creation of Adam, which<br />
can be found at: SophiaOnline.org/CreationAdam. Note: Michelangelo’s painting<br />
includes nudity. You may wish to crop the image.<br />
B. Next, give your students a few moments of silence to study the painting, and then lead<br />
a discussion based on the following questions:<br />
ӹ What do you notice first in this painting? What catches your attention?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
How does this painting make you feel?<br />
Who are the central figures in this painting?<br />
ӹ Michelangelo chose to focus on this moment of creation when God created mankind.<br />
Why do you think he did that? What is different about the creation of man<br />
and woman as compared to the rest of creation?<br />
C. Conclude the activity by explaining to your students how God created humans differently<br />
from the rest of creation and what that implies about human dignity.<br />
Activity #3<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: When God created man and woman<br />
in His image, before Original Sin entered the world, it was easy for them to recognize<br />
God in one another. When God created Eve, Adam exclaimed in wonder, “this one is bone<br />
of my bone, flesh of my flesh.”<br />
B. Next, discuss the following question with your students: When have you been amazed<br />
or in awe of another human being?<br />
C. Then, explain the following: Sin clouds our ability to recognize God and His image in<br />
others, especially in the case of others who have a mental or physical disability.<br />
D. View with your class the music video for the song “Renegades” by X Ambassadors,<br />
which can be found at the following link: SophiaOnline.org/Renegades.<br />
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E. Lead a discussion about the video based upon the following questions:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What surprised you the most in this video? In what ways were you amazed by the<br />
ability of the body and spirit of the people featured?<br />
The word renegade is defined as “a person who behaves in a rebelliously unconventional<br />
manner.” How have the writers of this song interpreted the meaning of<br />
this word in a new way?<br />
The music video reveals the band’s inspiration for the song lyrics. What did you<br />
think of their hidden story?<br />
How does this video help you recognize the inherent dignity of all persons, despite<br />
physical or mental limitations?<br />
6 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 2<br />
The Fall of Our Bodies<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 396–400<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.7.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Describe how<br />
the body-soul unity reveals<br />
man’s special dignity. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
18:4, 19:3-5, 23:5, 56-57:3;<br />
CCC 2518, 2520-2524)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
When God created man and woman, they existed in perfect<br />
harmony with God, with creation, and with each other.<br />
This harmony was destroyed by the Fall, when man,<br />
tempted by the devil, failed to trust God and chose his own<br />
will and pride over God. The grace of original holiness was<br />
lost, and Adam and Eve immediately looked upon God with<br />
fear in their hearts rather than love and trust. The consequence<br />
of the first sin was that the original harmony with<br />
God, Creation, and each other was broken. The intimate<br />
relationship with God was lost, control of the soul’s spiritual<br />
faculties over the body was shattered, the union of<br />
man and woman became subject to tensions, visible creation<br />
became alien and hostile to man, and death made its<br />
entrance into human history (CCC 400). In God’s original<br />
plan for human love, we were able to see the whole human<br />
person as a gift and an image of God. In a world with<br />
sin, our vision is clouded by lust and greed, and we have a<br />
tendency to objectify the bodies of others rather than respect<br />
them. This sinful tendency is further complicated by<br />
a difficulty to understand the unity of body and soul, most<br />
pointedly visible in how our modern society views gender<br />
as a subjective personal decision rather than a fixed part of<br />
our identity. Only in Christ can the tragic outcomes of sin<br />
on the human person be rectified and redeemed.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they<br />
knew that they were naked.<br />
GENESIS 3:7<br />
But the things that come out of the mouth come from<br />
the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil<br />
thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness,<br />
blasphemy.<br />
MATTHEW 15:18–19<br />
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Fall<br />
You will need: one Consequences of the Fall worksheet (pg. 9 of this guide) per student<br />
and Bibles.<br />
A. Arrange your students into pairs and distribute the Consequences of the Fall worksheet.<br />
Have your students complete the activity using their Bibles.<br />
B. After they have finished the activity, lead a discussion about how sin has impacted<br />
how we view and interact with God, creation, and each other, and how this impact of<br />
sin is evident in our modern world today.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Relationships Broken By Sin<br />
Relationship with God<br />
Relationship with Creation<br />
Relationship with Each Other<br />
Examples from the Fall Narrative<br />
Fear of God walking in garden and hiding from Him,<br />
forced to leave the garden.<br />
Toil to work the land, forced to leave the garden.<br />
Shame of nakedness, difficulty in childbearing.<br />
Activity #2: Our Identity as Sons and Daughters of God<br />
You will need: one blank note card per student.<br />
A. Distribute the note cards and ask your students to write down five words that describe<br />
who they are. Do not give them any suggestions.<br />
B. Next, ask for a few students to share one of their descriptive words. Anticipate many<br />
responses to be about personality traits or talents — such as smart, funny, tall, athletic,<br />
and so forth — rather than who they are.<br />
C. Then, point out that most of the responses they shared are about ability, what they<br />
do, rather than who they are. Lead a discussion about why this kind of thinking is<br />
incomplete and does not reflect who they are. If these traits or talents were lost, for<br />
example, it would not change who they are.<br />
D. Conclude by explaining the following to your students: Sin has also damaged the way<br />
we see ourselves. Our modern society emphasizes what a person does, or what he or she<br />
contributes to society, and attaches his or her worth to productivity. This outlook assumes<br />
people exist to serve society, and gets things backwards. We do not exist to serve society,<br />
the purpose of society is to support human flourishing. “The human person . . . is and<br />
ought to be the principle, the subject, and the object of every social organization” (GS 25<br />
§ 1). All people, often ourselves included, have inherent worth and dignity. The dignity of<br />
the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God (CCC 1700).<br />
8 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 2 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL<br />
Directions:<br />
With a partner, read Genesis 3:1–24 and identify the ways that sin harmed mankind’s<br />
relationship with God, with creation, and with each other.<br />
Relationships Broken By Sin<br />
Examples from The Fall Narrative<br />
Relationship with God<br />
Relationship with Creation<br />
Relationship with Each Other<br />
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS<br />
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MINI-LESSON 3<br />
Theology of the Body in the Story of Noah<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 56–58, 402<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.4.2 <strong>TOB</strong> Exhibit the virtue<br />
of reverence for God, his<br />
creation, and other people<br />
by treating them with respect<br />
and honor, for God is all good<br />
and his creation is a good<br />
gift. (<strong>TOB</strong> 14:4, 15:4, 119-<br />
120, 132:1; CCC 2096-2097,<br />
2415-2418, 2479).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
After the original harmony and unity of the human race<br />
was shattered by sin, God immediately sought to save humanity.<br />
Rather than leaving mankind to suffer in misery,<br />
God proclaimed what is known as the Protoevangelium, or<br />
the “first Gospel,” found in Genesis 3:15. In this proclamation,<br />
God spoke to the serpent, who represents the Devil,<br />
and gave the first revelation of His plan to send His Son<br />
to conquer evil and restore the communion between God<br />
and His people. The mystery of this plan unfolds through a<br />
series of covenants throughout Salvation History. The first<br />
covenant God entered into with mankind was the original<br />
covenant made with Adam and Eve. But, after the advent<br />
of sin, it became necessary for a new covenant to be made,<br />
this time, with a man named Noah. The covenant God<br />
makes with Noah is very similar to the original covenant<br />
between God and Adam; in fact, the Church refers to Noah<br />
as “the new Adam,” who sought to align himself to God’s<br />
will and work towards restoring humanity’s relationship<br />
with God through the baptismal waters of the Great Flood<br />
and the dawn of the new creation.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
But Noah found favor with the LORD.<br />
GENESIS 6:8<br />
By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation<br />
of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that<br />
comes through faith.<br />
HEBREWS 11:7<br />
10 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Protoevangelium<br />
A. Begin by reading aloud Genesis 3:15 and explaining the concept of the Protoevangelium<br />
to your students. In Genesis 3:15, God promised that a descendant of the woman (Eve)<br />
would one day crush the head of the descendants of the serpent. We understand this descendent<br />
of the woman to be Jesus, who, by His Paschal Mystery defeated sin and death.<br />
B. Then, lead a discussion based on the following questions:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Did God have to save humanity after they sinned? Why or why not? Why do you<br />
think He did so?<br />
Do you think humanity deserved to be saved or earned salvation in any way?<br />
How can the Protoevangelium provide hope for us in a world full of sin and<br />
destruction?<br />
Activity #2: The New Adam<br />
You will need: one Covenant Comparison worksheet (pg. 13 of this guide) per student<br />
and Bibles.<br />
A. Explain the concept of Noah as the New Adam. Emphasize that the covenant with<br />
Noah is similar to that of the covenant with Adam, but has some modifications based<br />
on humanity’s fallen state. Whereas Adam was the first human being in all of creation,<br />
with whom God made a covenant, Noah is the first of a new creation that emerged<br />
from the waters of the Great Flood, with whom God entered into a new covenant that<br />
was much the same as the first, but with different provisions for the accountability for<br />
human life.<br />
B. Next, arrange your students in pairs and distribute the Covenant Comparison worksheet<br />
and the Bibles and have them complete the activity.<br />
C. Then, ask for volunteers to share the similarities and differences they found between<br />
the two covenants. The covenant with Noah emphasizes the responsibility man has for<br />
the lives of one another because they are made in the image and likeness of God.<br />
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Activity #3: Respect for Creation<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: Adam and then Noah were given<br />
responsibility to care for God’s creation, which He created as good. When God sent the<br />
Great Flood, He had Noah protect not only his family, but also the other creatures He<br />
had created. This responsibility to care for our earthly home belongs to us; we are called<br />
to be good stewards of God’s Creation.<br />
B. Lead a class brainstorm to identify the ways humans have abused the gift of God’s<br />
creation both in our modern world and throughout the course of history. Write these<br />
ideas on the board.<br />
C. Then, discuss as a class the ways that Christians can combat the throw-away culture<br />
of waste and chronic disrespect of creation, including tangible things they can do in<br />
their own lives.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Covenant Comparison<br />
This list of suggested responses is not exhaustive, accept additional responses that are based<br />
in the Scripture.<br />
Unique to the Covenant with Adam:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
God gave Adam and Eve the fruit of any tree in the garden to eat, except for the<br />
tree at the center of the garden.<br />
God looked at what He had made and said it was “very good.”<br />
Unique to the Covenant with Noah:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Animals will experience fear and dread of man.<br />
God gave the living creatures to Noah and his family to eat.<br />
God demanded an accounting for human life.<br />
God promised never to destroy the human race by flood again.<br />
God placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign of His promise.<br />
Shared characteristics:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
God told them both to “Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.”<br />
God told them both to “subdue” the earth.<br />
God affirmed that human beings are made in His image.<br />
12 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 3 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
COVENANT COMPARISON<br />
Directions:<br />
With a partner, read the stories of the covenants God made with Adam and with<br />
Noah from Scripture and identify the similarities and differences in the Venn<br />
diagram below.<br />
Covenant with Adam<br />
Genesis 1:26–31<br />
Covenant with Noah<br />
Genesis 9:1–17<br />
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS<br />
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MINI-LESSON 4<br />
Abraham and Hagar and<br />
the Sacrifice of Isaac<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 59–60, 459,<br />
2570–2572<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.4.2 <strong>TOB</strong> Exhibit the virtue<br />
of reverence for God, his<br />
creation, and other people<br />
by treating them with respect<br />
and honor, for God is all good<br />
and his creation is a good<br />
gift. (<strong>TOB</strong> 14:4, 15:4, 119-<br />
120, 132:1; CCC 2096-2097,<br />
2415-2418, 2479)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
God proceeded to gather His people, who were scattered<br />
across the world, into a family through the patriarch<br />
Abraham. God promises to make Abraham the father of a<br />
multitude of nations, who would be as numerous as the<br />
stars in the skies or the sand on the seashore. While this<br />
promise may have seemed unbelievable to Abraham, he<br />
accepted God’s word with faith, and lived a life of obedience<br />
to Him. Abraham’s obedience, even to the point<br />
of sacrificing his only son Isaac, prefigured the obedient<br />
heart of Christ, who offered Himself on the Cross for the<br />
salvation of the world, as well as God the Father Himself,<br />
who gave His own beloved Son. “And so the father of believers<br />
is conformed to the likeness of the Father who<br />
will not spare his own Son but will deliver him up for<br />
us all” (CCC 2572). Abraham serves as a model for faith,<br />
obedience, prayer, and a renewed relationship with God.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
A second time the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven and said: “I swear by my<br />
very self — oracle of the LORD — that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me<br />
your son, your only one, I will bless you and make your descendants as countless as the stars of<br />
the sky and the sands of the seashore.<br />
GENESIS 22:15–17<br />
He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.<br />
PHILIPPIANS 2:8<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Father of Nations<br />
You will need: two jars with lids, one filled with a small candy of your choice (such as<br />
skittles, candy corn, or M&M’s) and one filled with sand. Be sure count the pieces of candy<br />
beforehand.<br />
A. Begin by placing the first jar filled with candy in front of the class where everyone can<br />
see it. Pass the jar around the classroom and ask students to make a guess as to how<br />
many pieces of candy are in the jar. Then, reveal how many pieces are in the jar and<br />
see who guessed the closest. Then, share the candy with your students.<br />
B. Next, tell your students they are going to do the activity again, and take out the jar full<br />
of sand for your students to see. Can they possibly guess how many grains of sand are<br />
in the jar? No, there are far too many tiny grains to make an adequate guess. This visual<br />
is a small glimpse into God’s love and promise for His family.<br />
C. Explain the following: After God made the covenant with Noah, humanity continued<br />
down a path of sin. God once more gathered His people, who were scattered across the<br />
world, this time through a covenant with Abraham. God promised to make Abraham the<br />
father of many nations, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in<br />
the sky and the sand on the seashore. This is our family; we are surrounded by countless<br />
brothers and sisters in the family of the Church. We are the descendants of Abraham and<br />
members of God’s family.<br />
Activity #2: The Sacrifice of Isaac<br />
A. Begin by projecting Franz Xaver Kirchebner’s fresco The Sacrifice of Isaac. The painting<br />
can be found at the following link: SophiaOnline.org/SacrificeIsaac.<br />
B. After providing a few moments of silence for your students to study the painting, lead<br />
a discussion based upon the following questions:<br />
ӹ What do you notice first about this painting? What draws your attention?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What emotions does this painting seem to be portraying?<br />
Can you identify any of the central figures in this painting? What event from<br />
Scripture is being depicted? What makes you think so?<br />
Read aloud Genesis 22:1–14. Why do you think God asked Abraham to sacrifice<br />
Isaac?<br />
What does this story reveal about the importance of obedience? What does it<br />
reveal about faith? About God’s mercy?<br />
What other parts of the story are visible in the painting?<br />
What is the significance of the ram? Read aloud again Genesis 22:8. How is this<br />
ram connected to Jesus’ title, Lamb of God?<br />
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Activity #3: A Selfless Gift<br />
You will need: one piece of notebook paper per student.<br />
A. Begin by asking your students to take out a blank piece of paper and list as many<br />
examples of transactions we make in our modern life. These can be monetary or any<br />
time that we give or do something and expect something in return.<br />
B. Ask for a few students to share items from their list.<br />
C. Next, ask your students to think of a time they have witnessed, or they themselves<br />
made, a selfless gift to another, where they did not expect something in return, not<br />
even a thank you. Define for them that a gift-of-self is to place oneself at the service<br />
of others and seek the true good of the others. Have them write a paragraph about<br />
this experience on the same piece of paper.<br />
D. Then, have a few students share their experiences of selfless giving and reflect on the<br />
question of why it is so hard to give and not expect anything in return.<br />
E. Conclude the activity by explaining the following story: Our culture often focuses on<br />
being “true to ourselves,” and putting our own contentment and satisfaction above<br />
everything else. The story of Abraham and the revelation of Jesus’ selfless sacrificial gift<br />
to humanity remind us that our lives are not about gaining and acquiring, but about giving<br />
sacrificial love to other members of the human family. It is difficult to commit acts of<br />
love knowing that we will not get something in return, but practicing these actions helps<br />
transform our hearts and our entire disposition toward serving others and loving God.<br />
F. Encourage your students to intentionally practice small acts of kindness and sacrifice<br />
on a regular basis.<br />
16 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 5<br />
Theology of the Body in the Story of Moses<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 205, 2056–2057, 2113<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.2.2 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain how<br />
original solitude means the<br />
experience of man’s being<br />
alone-with-God; his unique<br />
relationship to God. (<strong>TOB</strong> 6:2;<br />
CCC 374-375)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
God called Moses from the burning bush and gave him the<br />
mission of setting His people, the Israelites, free from slavery<br />
in Egypt. This mission called for dangerous encounters<br />
with the Pharaoh, the ten plagues, and culminated in the<br />
Exodus from Egypt, pursued by Pharaoh’s army. Yet the<br />
greater task for Moses was not to physically remove the<br />
Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians, but instead<br />
to free their hearts from their enslavement to sin and<br />
idolatry. Despite being removed from Egypt, the Israelites<br />
repeatedly clung to the sinful ways they adopted from the<br />
Egyptians, living lives of debauchery, and worshipping<br />
false idols.<br />
God gave Moses the Decalogue, or “ten words,” or Ten<br />
Commandments, which point out the conditions of a life<br />
freed from the slavery of sin. Freedom is often misunderstood<br />
as an individual doing whatever he or she wants,<br />
and a set of rules, such as the Ten Commandments, may<br />
appear to some to inhibit that freedom. Instead, the Ten<br />
Commandments offer liberation and life, guiding us to<br />
choose the good and enabling us to truly love.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I am giving you today, loving<br />
the LORD, your God, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and<br />
ordinances, you will live and grow numerous.<br />
DEUTERONOMY 30:16<br />
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery…<br />
For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for<br />
the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.<br />
GALATIANS 5:1, 13<br />
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To do with your students:<br />
Activity #1: Time with God<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: Prior to The Fall, man was blessed<br />
with original solitude, which means that he alone was made like God, in His image and<br />
likeness, and with a deep and unique relationship with Him without the barrier of sin<br />
standing in the way. Man walked alongside God in the Garden of Eden, and his conversation<br />
with God was a sensible and intimate reality. When God appeared to Moses<br />
on Mount Sinai and gave him the Ten Commandments, He revealed Himself in an extraordinary,<br />
visible, and tangible way. Because of Original Sin, we do not ordinarily<br />
experience prayer in these same perceptible ways as before the Fall and on Mt. Sinai.<br />
But we are still called to an intimate relationship with God. God calls us to draw close<br />
to Him in prayer and to become increasingly aware of His presence.<br />
B. Next, create a prayerful environment in the classroom — dim the lights, play soft instrumental<br />
music, and light a candle.<br />
C. Then, teach your class the Jesus Prayer, an ancient prayer that is very common in<br />
Orthodox churches. It helps us become more aware of God’s omnipresence by connecting<br />
a prayer to our breathing. Write the words of the prayer on the board so your<br />
students can follow along. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”<br />
D. First, have your students pray the first half of the prayer while they take a slow and intentional<br />
inhale. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God. Then, have them pray the second half of<br />
the prayer while they take a slow and intentional exhale. Have mercy on me, a sinner.<br />
E. Give your students a few minutes to pray this prayer silently, encouraging them to<br />
close their eyes once they have the prayer memorized.<br />
F. Conclude the activity by asking your students what they like about the prayer, and<br />
how they might incorporate it into their daily lives.<br />
Activity #2: True Freedom<br />
You will need: one True Freedom worksheet (pg. 20 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by leading a discussion based on the following questions:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
How would you define freedom? What is the true meaning? Make sure students<br />
understand that the true meaning of freedom is the ability to choose the good.<br />
How do you think our modern society defines freedom?<br />
Do you think that laws inhibit freedom? Why?<br />
How can just laws or rules create freedom and happiness?<br />
18 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
B. Next, explain to your students how freedom is misunderstood by our modern society,<br />
and how the Ten Commandments free us from the slavery of sin.<br />
C. Then, arrange your students into pairs, distribute the True Freedom worksheet, and<br />
have them complete the activity. Conclude that the Church’s teachings are not burdensome<br />
rules but rather help us become the selfless, loving people that God has made us<br />
to be. These teachings help us to treat others with the love and dignity they deserve,<br />
and they are reflections of the truths that we are called by God to love and that our<br />
entire being is a sacred reality and a gift from God.<br />
Activity #3: False Idols<br />
A. Begin by reading aloud the First Commandment from Genesis 20:1–6.<br />
B. Next, ask your students what comes to mind when they think of “false idols” or “false<br />
gods.” Anticipate responses such as the pagan gods of Greece or Rome, or the many gods<br />
of other world religions such as Hinduism.<br />
C. Then, explain the following to your students: Idolatry not only refers to false pagan<br />
worship, but consists of divinizing or raising anything in our lives up to a level of unhealthy<br />
love or worship. We commit idolatry when we put something in our hearts<br />
before God.<br />
D. Lead your class in a brainstorm activity, coming up with as many modern idols that<br />
exist in our society and writing them on the board.<br />
E. Conclude by leading your class in a prayer for strength to not be tempted by false<br />
idols and maintain detachment from material things.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 5 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
TRUE FREEDOM<br />
Directions:<br />
Identify how the following Commandments and secular laws create freedom and<br />
what evils they punish.<br />
Commandment/Law How it promotes freedom Evils it punishes<br />
Laws against<br />
shoplifting.<br />
You shall not murder.<br />
Legal speed limits.<br />
You shall not commit<br />
adultery.<br />
Laws against drinking<br />
and driving.<br />
Laws that protect<br />
freedom of speech.<br />
Laws that prohibit<br />
smoking on airplanes.<br />
Laws that protect<br />
freedom of religion.<br />
Honor your father and<br />
mother.<br />
20 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 6<br />
The Story of David<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 1693–1694, 2339,<br />
2579<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.4.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Define “original<br />
nakedness” as experiencing<br />
the true and clear vision<br />
of the person; as gift and in<br />
God’s image. (<strong>TOB</strong> 13:1;<br />
CCC 337, 339, 377)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
David was a man after God’s own heart. When Samuel<br />
came to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king, Jesse<br />
assumed one of his older and more kingly-looking sons<br />
would be chosen. However, in 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord<br />
spoke, saying “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they<br />
look on outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the<br />
heart,” and chose David, a young shepherd boy, for the<br />
task. Scripture reminds us that “the Lord is with David.”<br />
In this way, David prefigures Christ and the closeness he<br />
shares with His heavenly father. Unlike Christ, David gave<br />
in to our human tendency to sin. David committed adultery<br />
and sought to cover up his sin with even greater sins,<br />
which displeased the Lord. David faced the consequences<br />
of his sins, however, and acknowledged his mistakes, reconciling<br />
himself with the Lord and aligning his heart with<br />
the Lord’s once again. In the same way, we are called to<br />
be people after God’s own heart to receive the grace of<br />
the Sacraments, particularly Penance and Reconciliation.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart to appoint as ruler over his people because<br />
you did not observe what the LORD commanded you.<br />
1 SAMUEL 13:14<br />
For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those<br />
who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death,<br />
but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.<br />
ROMANS 8:5–10<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: God Sees Our Hearts<br />
You will need: One David Anointed as King worksheet (pg. 24 of this guide) per student<br />
and Bibles.<br />
A. Begin by arranging your students into pairs and distributing the David Anointed as<br />
King worksheet. Have your students complete the activity by reading the story of how<br />
God revealed the true king of Israel to the prophet Samuel from their Bibles.<br />
B. Conclude by leading a discussion based upon the reflection questions.<br />
Answer Key<br />
1. Jesse.<br />
2. Bethlehem — foreshadowing where the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, would be born.<br />
3. God looks on the heart.<br />
4. He was in the field, keeping the sheep.<br />
5. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. David prefigures Jesus.<br />
6. Accept reasoned answers.<br />
Activity #2: Loving or Using?<br />
You will need: One Loving or Using? worksheet (pg. 25 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: Even those who are holy can still<br />
fall into temptation and sin. David, God’s chosen and beloved one, allowed himself to be<br />
ruled by his passions and committed a grave sin.<br />
B. Lead a discussion about how David looked upon Bathsheba as an object, thinking<br />
only of his own desires and not of her dignity as a person. Describe how David, in<br />
an attempt to try to hide his sin, had Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, killed, by sending<br />
him to the front lines of battle. These events show us how one sin often leads to<br />
additional sins.<br />
C. Distribute the Loving or Using? worksheet and have your students complete it.<br />
D. Conclude by discussing their responses to the activity.<br />
Activity #3: Protecting our Eyes and Hearts<br />
Note: Preview this activity and present it only to students of sufficient maturity.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: King David fell into the sin of<br />
adultery when he looked upon Bathsheba with desire. Prior to the Fall, man and woman<br />
were able to look upon each other in their original nakedness, which, more than simply<br />
referring to their lack of clothing, rather represented their true and clear vision of the<br />
other person, free from the confines of sin, lust, and the temptation to use the other for<br />
their own gratification. Now, sin clouds our vision. Remember that God has told us that<br />
22 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
He looks at the heart. The way we regard others can be loving and respecting of their<br />
dignity, or it can cause us to sin. Jesus told us that the sin of adultery includes what is<br />
in our hearts.<br />
B. Lead a discussion about the importance of guarding our eyes and hearts from images<br />
that lead us to temptation, including those that objectify the human body. Give<br />
students a few moments of silence to reflect on the ways their eyes might lead them<br />
to sin. Do they look at others’ possessions with envy? Do they spend hours shopping<br />
online, looking at things they want to possess? Do their eyes lead them to habitually<br />
overeat? Do they seek out inappropriate videos?<br />
C. Conclude the activity by leading a prayer for God to grant us clean hearts and help us<br />
turn away from temptation. Explain that part of guarding our hearts means knowing<br />
our own weaknesses, and praying for grace.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 6 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
DAVID ANOINTED AS KING<br />
Directions:<br />
With a partner, read 1 Samuel 16:1–13 from your Bible and respond to the<br />
reflection questions.<br />
1. From whose family does God choose a new king for Israel?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. Which city did Samuel go to in search of the new king? Why is this city significant later?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. Why did God reject Jesse’s elder sons? What did He see that mortals do not?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. Where was David when Jesse presented his sons before Samuel?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
5. Who else in Scripture is known as a Good Shepherd? What does this tell us about David?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
6. God chose David, who was small, unexpected, and seemingly unworthy, to be king. What<br />
do you think this means for how God works in your own life?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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Mini-Lesson 6 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
LOVING OR USING?<br />
Directions:<br />
Read each scenario and determine if it is an example of loving someone or using<br />
someone. Then explain why.<br />
1. Your mom asks you to clean your room and you tell her you’ll do it in a minute, but never<br />
get to it.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. Your mom asks you to clean your room and you say no, but after further reflection you<br />
do it anyway.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. A classmate drops all their books in the hall, and you help them to pick up the books.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. You see a fight out on the playground and take out your phone to record it.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
5. You notice a student who regularly sits by himself at lunch, and you begin to sit with him,<br />
hoping he will share his food with you.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
6. You forgot to do your math assignment and ask a friend to let you copy theirs.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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MINI-LESSON 7<br />
Theology of the Body Principles<br />
Revealed in the New Covenant<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 517–518, 608, 618<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
6.8.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain how the<br />
human body is a visible sign<br />
(a “sacrament”) of God’s invisible<br />
love. (<strong>TOB</strong> 19:4; CCC<br />
355-356, 364)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption, above all<br />
through His sacrifice on the Cross. From the moment of<br />
the Incarnation, in which Jesus took on human flesh and assumed<br />
a life of poverty, through His continual obedience to<br />
the Father’s will throughout His life, through His preaching<br />
and miracles, and through the Paschal Mystery, Christ was<br />
continually doing the work of the Father. In all these actions,<br />
He recapitulated in Himself all of Salvation History, restoring<br />
fallen man to his original vocation of union with God.<br />
Jesus is the New Adam, for through Adam’s sin all of humanity<br />
was lost to sin and death, and through Christ’s great<br />
act of obedience by His redeeming Death on the Cross, all<br />
humanity was saved, and the gates of eternal life opened<br />
to us. As the Lamb of God, Jesus allowed Himself to be led<br />
to the slaughter and bore the sin of us all. Through the<br />
Incarnation, Jesus elevates the body and makes it holy. By<br />
His suffering and Death, unified to the whole human race,<br />
He sanctifies the suffering of us all, inviting us to participate<br />
in His redemptive action and giving meaning to our pain.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as<br />
of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.<br />
JOHN 1:14<br />
For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through<br />
the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.<br />
ROMANS 5:19<br />
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up<br />
his cross, and follow me.”<br />
MATTHEW 16:24<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Incarnation — Ignatian Contemplation<br />
A. Begin by creating a prayerful environment in your classroom. Explain to your students<br />
that they will be using their imaginations to enter more deeply into a story from<br />
Scripture.<br />
B. Next, start the meditation by asking your students to close their eyes and imagine the<br />
following using their senses:<br />
ӹ Have you ever slept on the floor or the ground before? What discomforts did you<br />
feel? Imagine those discomforts now.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Imagine the smells of a barn or zoo. What different odors do you recognize?<br />
What smells are pleasing? What smells are offensive?<br />
Imagine being far out in the country at night, where there are no electric lights.<br />
Imagine the darkness, the only light coming from the moon and stars.<br />
ӹ Imagine the silence of this place, far away from the sounds of the city, of vehicles.<br />
All you can hear are insects and the occasional sound from the livestock.<br />
C. Then, ask your students to remain in this imaginative place as your read a passage<br />
from Scripture. Ask them to imagine they are in the story, experiencing the story with<br />
their sight, smell, hearing, and so forth. Slowly read aloud Luke 2:1–20.<br />
D. Next, ask your students to open their eyes. Lead a discussion based on their experiences<br />
of prayer. Let them know that there are no right or wrong answers, they will<br />
all have had unique imaginative experiences. What did they see? What was the stable<br />
like? How rustic was the manger? What did they smell? Did they feel warm or cold?<br />
And so forth.<br />
E. Conclude the activity by discussing the Incarnation with your students, and the tangible<br />
realities of human life that Jesus, the King of Kings, willingly took on. The human<br />
body is a visible sign of God’s love. Emphasize His poverty, the human experiences<br />
that we also share that He went through, and how Jesus becoming man transformed<br />
and raised up the human body.<br />
Activity #2: The Paschal Mystery — Sacred Art Study<br />
A. Begin by projecting the painting The Carrying of the Cross by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.<br />
The painting can be found at the following link: SophiaOnline.org/CarryCross.<br />
B. After giving your students a few moments of silence to study the painting, lead a<br />
discussion based upon the following questions.<br />
ӹ What do you notice first about this painting? What catches your attention?<br />
ӹ<br />
How does this painting make you feel?<br />
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ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What colors are used? Why do you think the painter chose this color palate?<br />
What elements of light and darkness are used? How do they impact the emotional<br />
feeling of the painting?<br />
What scene is depicted in this painting? What makes you think so?<br />
ӹ Take a moment to look at Jesus. What emotions do you think the painter is trying<br />
to portray?<br />
C. Explain to your students the necessity of Jesus’ suffering and Death, and how the<br />
suffering we experience in our own life can be united to Jesus’ suffering to give it<br />
meaning and redemptive power.<br />
D. Conclude by leading your class in a prayer to offer up our current and future sufferings<br />
and unite them to the heart of Jesus.<br />
Activity #3: Jesus the New Adam<br />
You will need: One The Obedience of Christ worksheet (pg. 29 of this guide) per student<br />
and Bibles.<br />
A. Explain to your students the concept of Jesus as the New Adam.<br />
B. Next, arrange your students in pairs and distribute The Obedience of Christ worksheet<br />
and the Bibles and ask your students to complete the activity.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Jesus the New Adam<br />
Answers may vary slightly. Accept reasoned answers.<br />
Adam’s Disobedience<br />
1. Sin and death entered the world<br />
through Adam’s action and impacted<br />
all men and women.<br />
2. Adam’s action brought judgement to<br />
all.<br />
3. Adam’s action brought the dominion<br />
of death.<br />
4. Adam’s sin brought condemnation for<br />
all.<br />
5. By Adam’s one sin, all were made<br />
sinners.<br />
Christ’s Obedience<br />
Jesus’ sacrificial gift brought life and<br />
grace to all men and women.<br />
Jesus’ action brought justification.<br />
Jesus’ action brought the hope of<br />
eternal life for all.<br />
Jesus’ saving gift brought life and<br />
freedom for all.<br />
By Jesus’ one act of obedience, the<br />
many are made righteous.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #3 Worksheet<br />
THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST<br />
Directions:<br />
With a partner, read Romans 5:12–21 and complete the chart comparing the effects<br />
of Adam’s disobedience with the effects of Christ’s obedience.<br />
Adam’s Disobedience<br />
Christ’s Obedience<br />
1.<br />
2.<br />
3.<br />
4.<br />
5.<br />
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GRADE 7<br />
MINI-LESSONS<br />
——————— • • • ———————<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Lesson 1: The Word Became Flesh<br />
Lesson 2: The Signs and Wonders of Jesus<br />
Lesson 3: The Paschal Mystery<br />
Lesson 4: The Spousal Meaning of the Sacraments<br />
Lesson 5: Discipleship<br />
Lesson 6: Purity and Chastity<br />
Lesson 7: Prayer and Spirituality<br />
31
MINI-LESSON 1<br />
The Word Became Flesh<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 364, 476, 477, 478<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.1.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain that even<br />
after the Fall, creation remains<br />
a good gift and is not<br />
totally corrupted; it is able<br />
to be redeemed. (cf. <strong>TOB</strong><br />
32:3, 86; CCC 410-412, 422,<br />
1045-1048)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
As a human being, Jesus has a human body while remaining<br />
fully divine. By the Holy Spirit, He was incarnate (made<br />
flesh) of the Virgin Mary and entered time, the realm of<br />
His creation, at the moment of His conception at the<br />
Annunciation. His body is unique to Himself, as each of our<br />
bodies is uniquely ours, with a particular sex, hair texture<br />
and color, eye color, hand shape, fingerprints, laugh, blood<br />
type, and other characteristics. None of these qualities<br />
can be separated from Him, as none of us can separate<br />
our body from ourselves. Pope St. John Paul II explained in<br />
his Theology of the Body: “Man, whom God created male<br />
and female, bears the divine image imprinted on his body<br />
‘from the beginning.’ Man and woman constitute two different<br />
ways of the human ‘being a body’ in the unity of<br />
that image.” Evidence for these truths can be found in the<br />
Bible, in the Catechism, in the writings of Church Fathers,<br />
and in the truths revealed throughout the ages, such as<br />
Eucharistic miracles and personal revelations to the saints.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
And the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we saw His glory, the glory<br />
as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.<br />
— JOHN 1:14<br />
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold,<br />
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”<br />
— LUKE 1:30–31<br />
32 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: God Became Man<br />
A. For homework in advance of the activity, have students search for an image of Jesus<br />
that they believe best represents Him, and write out their reasoning for their choice.<br />
B. Next, during class, have your students share their images and hold a large group discussion<br />
about what each image reveals about Jesus. Prompt students to think about<br />
why many students (almost certainly) focused on Jesus’ face when selecting their<br />
image. What is it about the human face that is so compelling for getting to know<br />
someone?<br />
C. Then, write on the board the following song lyrics:<br />
ӹ<br />
From the “Epilogue” to Les Miserables: “To love another person is to see the face<br />
of God.”<br />
ӹ From the song “Face of God” by Phil Wickham: “A mother holds a child tonight,<br />
the Savior of the world is in her arms, She’s staring at the face of God.”<br />
D. Discuss the following questions:<br />
ӹ Has anyone ever seen Jesus in the flesh? Not in our lifetimes, though people alive<br />
when Jesus was alive did see him in the flesh, including His Apostles and His mother,<br />
Mary, and earthly father, Joseph.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Does He have a face uniquely His own? Yes. Like all of us.<br />
We read in the Bible that God would speak to a select few, such as Moses, “face<br />
to face” (Exodus 33:11). How did God assuming a human nature deepen God’s<br />
relationship with humanity? Accept reasoned answers.<br />
ӹ What does God assuming a human nature mean for us and our relationship with<br />
God? Accept reasoned answers.<br />
E. Finally, explain the following: The Church has always acknowledged that in the body<br />
of Jesus, we see our God made visible. The individual characteristics of Christ’s body<br />
express the divine Person of God’s Son. He has made the features of His human body<br />
His own.<br />
F. Close by praying Psalm 27:7–8:<br />
Hear my voice, LORD, when I call;<br />
have mercy on me and answer me.<br />
“Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;<br />
your face, LORD, do I seek!<br />
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Activity #2: The Buenos Aires Eucharistic Miracle of 1996<br />
A. Together, watch a short video about the Buenos Aires Eucharistic miracle of 1996.<br />
Many of various lengths are available online, one 8-minute option is available at<br />
SophiaOnline.org/BuenosAires. A longer, 35-minute documentary is available at<br />
SophiaOnline.org/BuenosAiresDocumentary.<br />
B. As you watch, have students record all the pieces of evidence presented for the human<br />
qualities of the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic host. Responses may<br />
include:<br />
ӹ The analyzed tissue contained human DNA.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
A doctor who did not know the source of the sample identified it as cardiac muscle<br />
tissue, taken from the wall of the left ventricle.<br />
The presence of white blood cells meant the person was alive when the sample was<br />
taken.<br />
The doctor also noted physical evidence of suffering.<br />
The sample was AB+ blood type (the universal recipient).<br />
34 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Activity #3: Our God Made Visible<br />
You will need: an icon of Christ.<br />
A. Begin by showing the class an icon of Christ (ideally, display one or more in your<br />
classroom throughout the year) and ask if anyone knows what an icon is, or why<br />
Christians venerate icons.<br />
B. Next, explain the following to your students: Since the earliest days of the Church,<br />
Christians have depicted God, Jesus, the saints, and other religious figures in pictures<br />
and statues. In the East in particular, a special kind of sacred image of holy persons<br />
called icons became popular objects of devotion. In their beauty, icons — material, visible<br />
things — assist us in calling to mind the divine. This practice comes from God Himself.<br />
The invisible God became visible, assuming a human nature in the Person of Jesus Christ.<br />
We learn from the Incarnation that our bodies are good, and that the way to know and<br />
adore God is through corporeal, material things. Human beings require bodily things to<br />
draw us to the divine — we need incarnations just as we needed the Incarnation.<br />
C. Then, have your students read Catechism paragraphs 364, 476, 477, 478, and the Biblical<br />
Touchstones and discuss what these passages tell us about our own bodies. Use the<br />
following questions to guide your discussion:<br />
ӹ What does it mean that we are a unity of body and soul?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What does God assuming a human nature mean for the body and for gender?<br />
How does God feel about His creation? How does He feel about you and I — persons<br />
that He has created in His own image?<br />
ӹ In light of His love for us, should we deny attributes of ourselves that are made<br />
manifest in our body?<br />
D. Conclude by having students journal a response to these questions for five to ten<br />
minutes.<br />
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MINI-LESSON 2<br />
The Signs and Wonders of Jesus<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 547–549<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.7.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain the bodysoul<br />
unity in the human<br />
person from the standpoint<br />
of the “language of the<br />
Body.” (<strong>TOB</strong> 9:4, 10:1, 14:6,<br />
15, 16:1-2, 23:4-5, 123:4-5,<br />
125: 1-2, 127:4; CCC 2518,<br />
2521-2524).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Many of the miracles that Jesus performed during His<br />
public life are recorded in the Gospels. In carefully studying<br />
the specific ways Jesus performed miracles, we can see<br />
patterns that help us understand our own human nature.<br />
For instance, Jesus often used natural materials, including<br />
His very body, to perform miracles: He used water, spittle,<br />
clay, clothing, bread, fish, and the laying on of His hands.<br />
Jesus also respected the characteristics of the person He<br />
was with and their bodily state at the time. This practice<br />
is evident, for example, in the Gospel stories of the little<br />
girl, the woman with a hemorrhage, the leper, the demoniac,<br />
the man born blind, and Lazarus. Jesus did not<br />
work against or bypass their bodily characteristics — He<br />
intentionally worked with their nature in restoring them<br />
to health and life. In this way, Jesus acknowledged and ennobled<br />
our bodies as a part of our human nature. God does<br />
not save human beings apart from human nature. The<br />
material elements of the universe could easily have been<br />
excluded from the work of redemption; instead, they were<br />
embraced. The way of salvation is incarnational.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection<br />
on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in<br />
me, even if he dies, will live.”<br />
JOHN 11:23–25<br />
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and<br />
pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your<br />
hands on her that she may get well and live.”<br />
MARK 5:22–23<br />
36 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Scripture Analysis<br />
You will need: Bibles.<br />
A. Begin by arranging your students into groups and assigning each group to read one<br />
of the following Gospel stories:<br />
ӹ The Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1–44)<br />
ӹ The Woman with the Hemorrhage (Mark 5:25–34)<br />
ӹ Jairus’s Daughter (Mark 5:21–24; 35–43)<br />
B. As they read, have students record the parts of the story that refer to the human body<br />
as well as the interaction of Jesus with the body of the person He is healing.<br />
C. After they have finished reading and recording, have groups share their conclusions<br />
in turn.<br />
D. Wrap up by explaining the following: As God, Jesus did not have to work with physical<br />
created material — it was His own choice to use His own created things to manifest His<br />
glory and show His love for us. Our God disdains nothing that He has made. The natural<br />
world is good; and because the Son of God assumed a human nature — including a<br />
human body — for all eternity, the dignity of our bodies and our human nature has been<br />
definitively affirmed.<br />
E. You may wish to extend this activity by having students continue working in their<br />
groups to research the miracles of Jesus and note the different means that were used<br />
to work them. Have students identify as many different material elements that Jesus<br />
used in the miracles as possible. Each should be notated with the Scripture citation and<br />
the title of the miracle. For example: The Walking on Water (Mark 6:45–52): Sea water<br />
Activity #2: Fiction Writing<br />
You will need: Bibles.<br />
A. Begin by having your students read one or more of the Scripture selections from<br />
Activity #1. Then have them work individually to write an alternate, fictitious account<br />
of the same miracle where Jesus does not use the human body or any natural<br />
elements.<br />
B. When they have finished, call on a few students to share their stories.<br />
C. Then, as a large group, contrast their fictitious stories with the true account of the<br />
miracle. Which one(s) are most vivid? Which do they find easier to picture in their<br />
minds, and relate to? Why do they think that is?<br />
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Activity #3: Art Reflection<br />
You will need: one Mary and Joseph Monument worksheet (pg. 39 of this guide) per student.<br />
You may also wish to make full color, laminated copies of the art.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: Throughout His public ministry,<br />
Jesus performed many miracles that all point to the goodness of the body. He healed<br />
people from diseases and fed thousands by miraculously multiplying loaves of bread and<br />
fish. His words at the Last Supper are made present to us at every Holy Mass when Jesus<br />
offers us His very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist, with the words,<br />
“This is My Body.”<br />
B. Next, arrange students in groups of three or four and give each group a copy of the<br />
Mary and Joseph Monument worksheet. Have them discuss the image in their groups<br />
using the questions as a guide.<br />
C. After a few minutes, reconvene the class and have groups share some insights from<br />
their small group discussion with the larger group.<br />
Activity #4: The Body and the Sacraments<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: The Church operates in the same<br />
way as Jesus in the principle of harmony between the physical and spiritual. The Church<br />
carries on Jesus’ mission of the salvation of souls, and she embraces the material in the<br />
process. Christ knows that human beings wash, eat, drink, marry, and tire, and therefore<br />
He seamlessly coordinates physical life with spiritual life.<br />
B. Next, set a timer for 90 seconds and have students work with a partner to list all the<br />
ways the seven Sacraments incorporate or involve bodily things. These could include<br />
pouring water on our head or immersing our bodies in water at Baptism, the speaking<br />
of vows and exchange of rings at marriage, or receiving the touch of Anointing of the<br />
Sick.<br />
C. After time is up, have students share their lists and see who came up with the most<br />
correct examples.<br />
38 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MARY AND JOSEPH MONUMENT<br />
by Rip Caswell<br />
(2012)<br />
Photograph courtesy Jose Gonzalez.<br />
© SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS<br />
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Mini-Lesson 2 Activity #3 Worksheet<br />
MARY AND JOSEPH MONUMENT IN SACRED ART<br />
Directions:<br />
Take some time to quietly view and reflect on the art. Let yourself be inspired<br />
in any way that happens naturally. Then think about the questions below, and<br />
discuss them with your classmates.<br />
Conversation Questions<br />
1. What is the first word, phrase, or adjective that comes to your mind when you see this<br />
image?<br />
2. What one word would you use to describe Joseph?<br />
3. What one word would you use to describe Mary?<br />
4. What are three things you see St. Joseph is expressing with his body in this sculpture?<br />
5. What are three things you see Mary is expressing with her body?<br />
6. Do you see any signs that the sculptor of this piece may have been trying to communicate<br />
that our bodies are good, or that we use our bodies to express love? Explain.<br />
7. Notice how Mary’s eyes seem fixed on something in the distance. Directly across the room<br />
from this sculpture is a crucifix. This arrangement was done purposefully, so viewers of the<br />
sculpture see that Mary is gazing at her Son on the Cross. How does this artistic arrangement<br />
reveal a way we use our bodies to show love?<br />
40 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 3<br />
The Paschal Mystery: What it Teaches<br />
Us about Christian Anthropology<br />
and Human Sexuality<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 364, 612, 618, 645-646,<br />
650, 2395, 998–1004<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.1.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain that even<br />
after the Fall, creation remains<br />
a good gift and is not<br />
totally corrupted; it is able<br />
to be redeemed. (cf. <strong>TOB</strong><br />
32:3, 86; CCC 410-412, 422,<br />
1045-1048).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
The mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of<br />
Jesus — the Paschal Mystery — has been the subject of contemplation<br />
and wonder to brilliant theologians and humble<br />
lay Christians alike. It is a profound theological truth,<br />
the truth that is the basis of our Christian faith, that Jesus,<br />
although innocent, gave His life so that we might live in<br />
Him. Jesus really suffered, both physically in His body and<br />
spiritually, eventually dying by crucifixion whereby His<br />
body and soul, although separated, were still united to<br />
His Divine nature. On the third day, Jesus, in His body and<br />
soul, rose from the dead. His resurrected body was and<br />
is glorified. We are united to Jesus and to each other as<br />
part of the Mystical Body of Christ. We also learn from the<br />
Paschal Mystery that the gift of our human sexuality is to<br />
be used chastely. Chastity is defined as the successful integration<br />
of sexuality within the person and thus the inner<br />
unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Unity with<br />
Christ, unity with each other, and unity within ourselves<br />
is the ultimate perfection of human existence.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over<br />
the spirit.<br />
JOHN 19:30<br />
Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said<br />
this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.<br />
JOHN 20:19–20<br />
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41
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Stations of the Cross<br />
You will need: arrangements to visit a church or chapel with indoor or outdoor Stations, or<br />
you can use a video meditation in the classroom, such as the one found here: SophiaOnline.<br />
org/StationsoftheCrossVideo.<br />
A. Lead your students in the Stations of the Cross either in your parish church or chapel,<br />
or using a video meditation.<br />
B. Afterwards, reflect for a few moments together on the physical as well as spiritual<br />
suffering of Jesus. Ask your students why it is significant that Jesus experienced physical<br />
suffering and not just spiritual suffering and emotional anguish. Accept reasoned<br />
answers.<br />
C. Then, explain the following to your students: The Church teaches that in His very<br />
flesh, Jesus restores God’s plan for human love as a self-giving, sacrificial gift. By Jesus’<br />
taking on human flesh God elevates the dignity of the human body. The bleeding, pierced,<br />
and broken body of Jesus on the Cross exposes the self-giving, life-giving love that the<br />
body was always meant to express. For man “cannot fully find himself except through a<br />
sincere gift of himself” (Gaudium et Spes 24). And a gift of self must be complete — our<br />
bodies and souls form a unity! If Jesus had only suffered spiritually, the redemption of<br />
our nature would have been incomplete.<br />
Activity #2: Evidence from Scripture that Jesus Rose from the Dead<br />
You will need: Bibles.<br />
A. Begin by having your students read John 20:19–29 and record points of evidence from<br />
the Scripture passage that support the following statements:<br />
ӹ Jesus rose from the dead.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Jesus was bodily present to His Apostles.<br />
Jesus’ body was in a glorified state.<br />
ӹ Jesus wanted us to believe in His Resurrection.<br />
B. When they have finished, call on students to share and discuss their findings. Keep a<br />
master list on the board.<br />
C. Wrap up by explaining the following to your students: The Paschal Mystery shows us<br />
that our bodies are good. Jesus used His body to suffer and die for us to bring about our<br />
redemption. At first it might seem like God is condemning the body, since Jesus submitted<br />
Himself to such physical suffering. But we see this cannot be the case because He<br />
then rose from the dead! Jesus did not just rise from the dead spiritually. He rose from<br />
the dead in His glorified body.<br />
42 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Activity #3: Caring for our Bodies<br />
You will need: one Caring for Our Bodies worksheet (pg. 45 of this guide) for each student.<br />
A. Begin by discussing the following with your students: In His healing miracles, Jesus<br />
restored a person’s body to how it was designed to function. In the Paschal Mystery, He<br />
restored our souls to communion with God and each other. For these reasons, we call Jesus<br />
the Divine Physician, as He restores our bodies and our souls to God’s plan for them.<br />
B. Next, distribute to each student a copy of the Caring for Our Bodies worksheet. First,<br />
as a large group, try to arrive at a definition of medicine. Help students come to understand<br />
that medicine helps the human body function as it was designed to function.<br />
C. Then, write the word poison on the board and lead the class to a definition. Help the<br />
class see that not all poison is deadly. Any substance that is intended to stop the body<br />
from functioning as designed is poisonous. And of course, some poisons will immediately<br />
kill the body.<br />
D. Explain to your students the following: Ingesting medicine can look like the same exact<br />
act as ingesting poison, but one is good (medicine) while the other is bad (poison). The<br />
difference is the ends (or purpose) for which it is being ingested. For example, one can<br />
take too much of a drug that was intended as medicine, and it will be poisonous.<br />
E. Finally, have students complete the rest of the worksheet individually.<br />
F. Close in a prayer thanking Jesus for the wonderful design of our bodies. Pray for the<br />
restoration of good health for anyone in your community that needs it. Invite students<br />
to share prayer intentions for their loved ones if they wish.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Medicine: A substance that helps the human body function as it was designed to function.<br />
Poison: A substance intended to stop the body from functioning as designed.<br />
1. M<br />
2. M<br />
3. P<br />
4. P<br />
5. P<br />
1. M<br />
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Activity #4: We Will Rise Again with Jesus<br />
You will need: one We Will Rise Again with Jesus worksheet (pg. 46 of this guide) per<br />
student.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: The truth of human anthropology<br />
is that our human nature consists of both body and soul. Although the soul separates<br />
from the body at death, at the end of time, the body and soul will be reunited again in the<br />
Resurrection of the Body and will live forever in the New Heaven and New Earth. Our<br />
bodies will rise again in a glorified state and be united with our souls through Jesus, who<br />
is the Resurrection and the Life.<br />
B. Next, ask the class to consider what the Resurrection of the Body means for the way<br />
we live. What are some ways we show care for and honor to our bodies in this life that<br />
marks our Christian dignity? Encourage the class to think in both physical and spiritual<br />
terms. For example, in the physical realm we strive for good nutrition, plenty of exercise,<br />
eating in moderation, using sunscreen, wearing seatbelts, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and<br />
so forth. The ways that we care for our bodies also helps our spiritual lives, for example,<br />
modesty and chastity.<br />
C. Conclude by having students journal their responses on the We Will Rise Again with<br />
Jesus worksheet.<br />
Answer Key<br />
1. Our bodies are good. Our bodies are an inherent, inalienable part of who we are. We<br />
are a unity of body and soul. We should treat our bodies with respect and honor.<br />
2. Physical: Eating nutritious foods, eating in moderation, getting plenty of exercise,<br />
going to sleep at a reasonable hour and waking up in time to meet responsibilities,<br />
using sunscreen, wearing seatbelts, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and so forth. Spiritual:<br />
Praying frequently, living chastely, striving for purity, dressing modestly, fasting, offering<br />
sacrifices, giving alms, lending support to those who are suffering, learning<br />
about God and growing in faith, avoiding the near occasion of sin (situations that lead<br />
to temptation), and so forth.<br />
44 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 3 Activity #3 Worksheet<br />
CARING FOR OUR BODIES<br />
Directions:<br />
Applying what you have learned through class discussion, write out a definition<br />
for each word. Then state whether each example below is medicine or poison.<br />
Definition of medicine:<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Definition of poison:<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
Mark whether each is poisonous or medicinal:<br />
1. Taking vitamin D supplements for a vitamin D deficiency.<br />
2. Injecting an epi-pen to stop an emergency allergic reaction.<br />
3. Taking an antihistamine because it will make you drowsy so you<br />
can sleep.<br />
4. Drinking 10 cups of coffee so you can stay up late and study.<br />
5. Injecting steroids so an athlete can be stronger than his<br />
competitors.<br />
6. Injecting steroids to treat severe pain from an inflammatory<br />
condition.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 3 Activity #4 Worksheet<br />
WE WILL RISE AGAIN WITH JESUS<br />
Directions:<br />
Read the information and then answer the questions.<br />
Because our bodies die at the end of our<br />
earthly life, it can be easy to sometimes<br />
slip into thinking our bodies are less important,<br />
or somehow less a part of who we are,<br />
than our souls. The Catechism teaches us:<br />
“Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity.<br />
Through his very bodily condition he sums up<br />
in himself the elements of the material world...<br />
For this reason man may not despise his bodily<br />
life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body<br />
as good and to hold it in honor since God has<br />
created it and will raise it up on the last day”<br />
(CCC 364). When we die, our soul separates<br />
from our body. But at the Last Judgment at<br />
the end of time, our bodies will rise again and<br />
be reunited with our souls. If we have followed<br />
Christ in this life, we will be invited to<br />
enjoy eternal life in our glorified bodies united<br />
to our souls in a mysterious New Heaven<br />
and New Earth where there will be no more<br />
tears or suffering.<br />
1. Some people think of the human body as disposable, a kind of shell of tissue that transports<br />
our souls but is of no inherent value. What does it mean for the way we should treat<br />
our bodies when we know they will rise again with us?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. What are some ways we care for our bodies that promote physical and spiritual health,<br />
and that show the world our Christian dignity? List at least 5 examples that promote our<br />
physical health, and 5 that promote spiritual health.<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
46 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 4<br />
The Spousal Meaning of the Sacraments<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 796, 1131–1133<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.6.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Evaluate actions<br />
for self-mastery and describe<br />
how actions of self-mastery<br />
free one to make a full gift-ofself.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 15:1-4, 32:6; CCC<br />
2339, 2340, 2343, 2346).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
The Sacraments are physical signs of the grace of God being<br />
given to the members of His bride, the Church. We<br />
have seven Sacraments; the Sacraments of Initiation are<br />
Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist; the Sacraments of<br />
Healing are Penance and Reconciliation and Anointing of<br />
the Sick; and the Sacraments at the Service of Communion<br />
are Marriage and Holy Orders. Each Sacrament unites us<br />
to God through His grace and is a share in His Divine life.<br />
The Sacraments are outward signs of the spousal love of<br />
Christ for us. Spousal love is a total gift of self between the<br />
spouses — the bride and bridegroom — a blending of two<br />
lives that become one. This image of spousal love is a great<br />
analogy for the sacramental life. Each Sacrament is both<br />
physical and spiritual, tending to both body and soul.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples<br />
said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”<br />
MATTHEW 26:26<br />
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”<br />
JOHN 15:12<br />
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Sacrament Shuffle<br />
You will need: one copy of Sacrament Shuffle worksheet (pg. 51 of this guide) for each<br />
group of three to five students.<br />
A. Begin by arranging your students into groups of three to five. Give each group a copy<br />
of Sacrament Shuffle. Have each group list the physical sign of the presence of the<br />
Sacrament (how it makes God’s love visible) and the effect the Sacrament has on the<br />
person who receives it (in terms of how it unites that person to Jesus).<br />
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B. As students work, walk around the room and point out any parts that need to be<br />
re-evaluated by the group.<br />
C. The first group to finish is subject to the scrutiny of the class. If they are correct, they<br />
win.<br />
Sacrament Shuffle Answer Key<br />
Note: The suggested answers in the chart below are not exhaustive, accept additional<br />
reasoned answers.<br />
Sacrament<br />
Baptism<br />
Confirmation<br />
Eucharist<br />
What is the physical sign(s) of the<br />
Sacrament? What do we do with our<br />
bodies when we receive it?<br />
ӹ Water is poured three times on the<br />
person, or the person is immersed three<br />
times in water.<br />
ӹ The minister speaks words of Baptism.<br />
ӹ The person receives a candle and white<br />
garment.<br />
ӹ Parents ask for Baptism for their child.<br />
ӹ Godparents promise to help the parents.<br />
ӹ The bishop lays hands on the confirmand.<br />
ӹ The bishop anoints the confirmand.<br />
ӹ The bishop says, “Be sealed with the gift of<br />
the Holy Spirit.”<br />
ӹ We approach the bishop and hear his<br />
words, we may speak our saint’s name,<br />
and wish the bishop Christ’s peace.<br />
ӹ Our sponsor stands with us, with a hand<br />
on our shoulder.<br />
ӹ Bread and wine become the Body and<br />
Blood of Jesus Christ.<br />
ӹ We reverently approach the Eucharist.<br />
ӹ We must fast for one hour before<br />
receiving.<br />
ӹ We may kneel or bow our heads.<br />
ӹ We may receive on the tongue or in the<br />
hands.<br />
How does this<br />
Sacrament unite the<br />
person to Christ?<br />
The person is made an<br />
adopted son or daughter<br />
of God the Father, and<br />
part of Christ’s Body.<br />
The person receives<br />
a strengthening of<br />
the graces received at<br />
Baptism, including the<br />
Gifts of the Holy Spirit,<br />
which are qualities of<br />
Christ which make us<br />
better able to respond<br />
to the Holy Spirit’s<br />
promptings.<br />
We are united to Christ<br />
when we literally receive<br />
Him into our bodies: we<br />
consume the Body and<br />
Blood of Christ, becoming<br />
one with Him. We<br />
are thereby united with<br />
other Christians in Him.<br />
48 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Sacrament<br />
Penance and<br />
Reconciliation<br />
Anointing of<br />
the Sick<br />
Marriage<br />
Holy Orders<br />
What is the physical sign(s) of the<br />
Sacrament? What do we do with our<br />
bodies when we receive it?<br />
ӹ The penitent kneels.<br />
ӹ The penitent speaks his sins.<br />
ӹ The penitent asks for forgiveness.<br />
ӹ The priest listens and offers advice, as<br />
well as a penance.<br />
ӹ The penitent listens to the advice and to<br />
the penance he has been given.<br />
ӹ The priest speaks words of absolution.<br />
ӹ The penitent hears words of absolution.<br />
ӹ The penitent performs the penance he<br />
was assigned.<br />
ӹ The priest lays hands on the person being<br />
anointed.<br />
ӹ The sick person presents his body to the<br />
priest for anointing.<br />
ӹ The priest anoints the person with oil.<br />
ӹ The man and woman speak vows.<br />
ӹ The man and woman exchange rings.<br />
ӹ Bishop lays hands on the man being<br />
ordained.<br />
ӹ The man being ordained lies prostrate<br />
in humility before Christ.<br />
How does this<br />
Sacrament unite the<br />
person to Christ?<br />
We offer our sins to<br />
Jesus for His forgiveness;<br />
our penance is a small<br />
suffering that unites us<br />
to Christ’s suffering.<br />
The sick person receives<br />
the loving touch<br />
of Christ and is able to<br />
unite their suffering<br />
to Jesus’ Passion. The<br />
sick person may also<br />
receive the Eucharist as<br />
Viaticum.<br />
Each spouse vows to love<br />
the other for the sake<br />
of Christ, for as long as<br />
they both shall live. Each<br />
spouse must give up his/<br />
her own life for the sake<br />
of the other and helps<br />
the other get to Heaven<br />
throughout this life.<br />
A man vows to give his<br />
life for the salvation<br />
of souls, as did Christ<br />
Himself.<br />
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Activity #2: Baptism Videos<br />
Ask your class (including parents) if any have a video of their Baptism. If so, ask if they<br />
would be willing for the class to view it. The personal gift of a share in God’s life for that<br />
student will bring joy to the whole class.<br />
Activity #3: The Gift of Self in Marriage<br />
You will need: Bibles, and one The Gift of Self in Marriage worksheet (pg. 54 of this<br />
guide) for each student.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: The Sacrament of Marriage is a<br />
Sacrament at the service of Communion. That title means that, along with Holy Orders,<br />
Marriage is about helping others get to Heaven. To love is to will the good of another.<br />
When spouses promise to love their spouse, they freely promise to will the good of their<br />
spouse in an exclusive and fruitful way that requires a complete gift of self. Jesus gives<br />
us the ultimate example of what a true gift of self looks like. Pope St. John Paul II wrote,<br />
“That gift of self to the Father through obedience to the point of death is...an act of ‘giving<br />
himself for the Church.’ In this expression, redeeming love transforms itself... into spousal<br />
love: by giving himself for the Church, with the same redeeming act, Christ united<br />
himself once and for all with her as the Bridegroom to the Bride, as the husband with<br />
the wife…” (Theology of the Body A90:6). This beautiful truth about the union between<br />
Christ and His Church gives us the model for marriage.<br />
B. Distribute The Gift of Self in Marriage worksheet and have students work individually<br />
to use their Bibles to complete it.<br />
Answer Key<br />
The Gift of Self in Marriage<br />
1. God calls the spouses to be a communion of persons through their bodies.<br />
2. Wives are called to be subordinate to their husbands as the Church is subordinate to<br />
Christ. Husbands are called to give up their lives for their wives as Christ gave His life<br />
for the Church.<br />
3. Both spouses are called to submit in a certain way to the other. The husband is the<br />
head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church, which means the wife is called to<br />
follow her husband’s leadership. For this reason, wives are expressly called to respect<br />
their husbands. The husband, however, far from being given authority to lord power<br />
over his wife, is a servant leader. Like Christ, the husband is called to give himself up<br />
out of love for his wife. These different roles mirror the natural differences between<br />
men and women. Accept additional reasoned answers.<br />
50 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 4 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
SACRAMENT SHUFFLE<br />
Directions:<br />
For each Sacrament, explain the physical signs used, and how we use our bodies<br />
in the reception of the Sacrament. Then, explain how the Sacrament unites the<br />
person receiving it to Christ. A few have been done for you as examples.<br />
Sacrament<br />
What is the physical sign(s) of the<br />
Sacrament? What do we do with our<br />
bodies when we receive it?<br />
How does this Sacrament<br />
unite the person to Christ?<br />
Baptism<br />
The person is made an adopted<br />
son or daughter of God the<br />
Father, and part of Christ’s Body.<br />
Confirmation<br />
Eucharist<br />
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Mini-Lesson 4 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
SACRAMENT SHUFFLE (continued)<br />
Sacrament<br />
What is the physical sign(s) of the<br />
Sacrament? What do we do with our<br />
bodies when we receive it?<br />
How does this Sacrament<br />
unite the person to Christ?<br />
Penance and<br />
Reconciliation<br />
ӹ The penitent kneels.<br />
ӹ The penitent speaks his sins.<br />
ӹ The penitent asks for forgiveness.<br />
ӹ The priest listens and offers advice,<br />
as well as a penance.<br />
ӹ The penitent listens to the advice and<br />
to the penance he has been given.<br />
ӹ The priest speaks words of absolution.<br />
ӹ The penitent hears words of<br />
absolution.<br />
ӹ The penitent performs the penance<br />
he was assigned.<br />
Anointing of<br />
the Sick<br />
Marriage<br />
52 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 4 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
SACRAMENT SHUFFLE (continued)<br />
Sacrament<br />
What is the physical sign(s) of the<br />
Sacrament? What do we do with our<br />
bodies when we receive it?<br />
How does this Sacrament<br />
unite the person to Christ?<br />
Holy Orders<br />
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Mini-Lesson 4 Activity #3 Worksheet<br />
THE GIFT OF SELF IN MARRIAGE<br />
Directions:<br />
Read the information and then respond to the questions using your Bible.<br />
All human persons are made with a special<br />
dignity because we are created in the image<br />
and likeness of God. Our bodies, created<br />
male and female, express our very selves.<br />
Through our bodies, we can think, reason,<br />
speak, and act. Our physical bodies speak a<br />
language: they express who we are, as well as<br />
our desires and intentions. God created man<br />
and woman to love as He loves: “This is my<br />
commandment: love one another as I love you”<br />
(John 15:12).<br />
In marriage, God calls the spouses to be a communion<br />
of persons through their bodies. A man<br />
and a woman give themselves to each other in<br />
a physical way, which expresses an invisible<br />
reality: that they are a covenant of persons<br />
through the Sacrament of Marriage. Through<br />
the union of their body and soul in the marital<br />
act, a husband and a wife have the power to be<br />
co-creators with God. In the normal course of<br />
things, their invisible love is made visible in a<br />
new person: a child!<br />
1. In what special way does God call married persons to make a gift of self to their spouse?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. Read Ephesians 5:21–33. St. Paul tells spouses to be subordinate to one another out of<br />
reverence for Christ. In what ways are wives called to be subordinate to their husbands?<br />
In what ways are husbands called to be subordinate to their wives?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. How is each spouse called in a particular way to make a gift of himself or herself? How<br />
do the differences in the vocation of a husband and wife mirror the natural differences<br />
between men and women?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
54 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 5<br />
Discipleship<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 1695, 1730–1734<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.1.2 <strong>TOB</strong> Provide examples<br />
of rightly ordered desire, given<br />
by God, and disordered<br />
“desire.” (<strong>TOB</strong> 48:4; CCC<br />
374-379, 400, 2514-2516,<br />
2517-2520, 2528-2531, 2541,<br />
2543-2544, 2546, 2548-2549,<br />
2555, 2557)<br />
7.9.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Point out that as<br />
a result of original sin man<br />
experiences concupiscence<br />
and needs to bring emotions<br />
and desires into harmony<br />
with what is truly good. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
26:5, 31:3, 31:6, 32:3, 33:1-<br />
2, 51:5-6, 54; CCC 397, 400,<br />
405, 1707, 1865, 1949, 2514-<br />
2520, 2534-2535, 2549).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Jesus’ promises remain even amid our often hyper-sexualized<br />
culture. To truly follow Him and be His disciples, we<br />
must abide in His word; and if we can, by the grace of God,<br />
we shall know the truth, and this truth shall set us free! To<br />
abide in the Word of God means to read it, to contemplate<br />
it, to make it the focus of our lives, and to live it. The Word,<br />
as it relates to sexuality, describes a life of self-giving<br />
love, a life where the sexual powers God has given us are<br />
harnessed for the good. This life as the disciple of Christ<br />
is truly joyful; that joy comes not from worldly pleasure<br />
but through the cross of self-sacrifice and the gift of self<br />
that is our ultimate calling. As young people begin their<br />
mature journey of faith, they must learn to recognize the<br />
difference between the Lord’s way of love and the way of<br />
selfishness and perversion that has too often become the<br />
norm of our modern life. The world is eager to mislead<br />
young people into thinking that sexual license is the highest<br />
form of freedom, whereas Christians know that true<br />
freedom is freedom from slavery to sin. True freedom is<br />
the ability to freely choose the good God wants for us.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be<br />
my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”<br />
JOHN 8:31–32<br />
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love<br />
one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”<br />
JOHN 13:34–35<br />
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To do with your students:<br />
Activity #1: Abide in Me Music Reflection<br />
You will need: the video of the song “Abide in Me” by Matt Maher, found at SophiaOnline.<br />
org/AbideinMe, and one Abide in Me worksheet (pg. 59 of this guide) for each student.<br />
A. Begin by distributing the Abide in Me worksheet to each student and play the music<br />
video for your students.<br />
B. Next, work through the first four questions on the worksheet together. As you complete<br />
the chart, discuss the following with your class: The world tends to think freedom<br />
means having no rules or restraints, and the ability to do whatever one wants. The<br />
Church understands that true freedom means having the ability to do what one ought<br />
to do, freedom from sin, and the freedom to cultivate virtue. To be created in the image<br />
of God means that we are persons capable of love and communion. God has given us the<br />
supreme dignity of freedom for the sake of this vocation to love. The gift of freedom is<br />
thus a capacity God gives to us to make our life a gift to others. Through sin, we impair<br />
our capacity for love by abusing our freedom and using it for selfish purposes. When we<br />
exercise our freedom for the sake of loving God and one another, we become like Him.<br />
C. You may wish to allow a few minutes of reflection about the questions, then replay<br />
the video. Allow the students to choose one of the essays and compose a response.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Abide in Me Reflection Activity<br />
1. To be with him, to help the artist remain true to Jesus and to preserve in the Christian<br />
life.<br />
2. A. to know the truth<br />
B. to be truly His disciples<br />
C. to abide in His Word<br />
3. Read Scripture, attend Mass, pray every day, go to Confession, strive for holiness, actively<br />
practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, accept additional reasoned<br />
answers.<br />
4. Accept answers that include the idea that true freedom is not the ability to do whatever<br />
we want, but the ability to choose the good; to be what we were created to be,<br />
free of the inclination to sin.<br />
5. Accept reasoned answers.<br />
56 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Activity #2: Living Out the Gift<br />
You will need: one Living Out the Gift worksheet (pg. 61 of this guide) per student. If<br />
possible, invite a priest or religious to the class, along with a married person, to speak to<br />
ways they bear “the fruit of the Spirit” by charity in action in different ways.<br />
A. Begin by explaining the following to your students: Jesus wants human beings to express<br />
love in a way that is fitting for our state of life. Single people, people who are dating, married<br />
people, and those who have consecrated themselves to God will all express the love of<br />
God in different ways.<br />
B. Next, read aloud Catechism paragraph 1695 and discuss it briefly, clarifying any questions<br />
students may have.<br />
C. Then, have them begin to complete the chart in class. If you were unable to invite<br />
speakers to the class, have your students interview a priest or religious, along with their<br />
parents and/or another married couple, to help generate ideas.<br />
Answer Key<br />
Living Out the Gift<br />
Suggested answers follow; accept additional reasoned answers. Note that all persons are<br />
called to live chastely.<br />
Single person: Prayerfully discerning their vocation; going to Mass; living chastely; praying<br />
for one’s future spouse or future religious community; offering gifts of service to<br />
those around them; volunteering; helping the poor; and so forth.<br />
Priest or religious brother or sister: Directing their heart and mind completely to God;<br />
administering the Sacraments (if ordained priests); going to Mass; living chastely; putting<br />
the needs of their community/flock ahead of their own; praying for one’s community<br />
and/or flock; offering gifts of service to those around them; volunteering; helping the<br />
poor; and so forth.<br />
Married person: Selflessly loving their spouse for the sake of Christ and their salvation;<br />
putting their spouse’s needs ahead of their own; if they are blessed with children, nurturing<br />
them and raising them in the Faith; living chastely; and so forth.<br />
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Activity #3: Freedom from Slavery to Sin<br />
You will need: four to five, 2in. x 11in. strips of paper for each student and a stapler.<br />
A. Begin by sharing the following quotation with your students: “Watch your thoughts,<br />
they become your words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions,<br />
they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character,<br />
for it becomes your destiny.”<br />
B. Next, ask your students to define a habit. A habit is an action or thought that is repeated<br />
often and becomes a pattern of behavior. The more the habit is reinforced, the<br />
easier it becomes to do. Ask students to identify several examples of actions that are<br />
good habits.<br />
C. Then, distribute four to five strips of 2in. x 11in. paper to each student and, on each<br />
strip, have them write down an action that is NOT a good habit. (Note: If necessary,<br />
remind students that something good is something that helps us live in accord with<br />
our nature — to be what we were created to be: saints.)<br />
D. Have students bend each strip of paper to create a circle, staple, and interlock them<br />
to create a chain. As they do so, invite students to share some of what they chose to<br />
write down on their strips of paper.<br />
E. Now that you have a visual representation of the “yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1) that<br />
is sin, ask students what this chain represents. The chain of our sins weighs us down<br />
and limits our freedom. (Note that just as a reinforced habit is easier to do, it is also that<br />
much more difficult to break free from.) We cannot do it ourselves! Jesus offers to break<br />
these chains for us. If we follow Him, pray, receive the Sacraments, and exercise virtue,<br />
we become more and more free, with His grace, to choose the good, which helps us on<br />
our way to sainthood.<br />
58 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 5 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
ABIDE IN ME REFLECTION ACTIVITY<br />
Directions:<br />
Answer the following questions, complete the chart, and then answer the essay<br />
question.<br />
1. Listen to the song lyrics. What is the artist asking of the Lord?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. We read in the Gospel of John, “Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, ‘If you<br />
remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the<br />
truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32).<br />
a. What does Jesus say is needed to be set free?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
b. What does Jesus say is needed to know the truth?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
c. What does Jesus say is necessary to truly be His disciples?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. What are ways you can abide in Christ’s word?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. Complete the chart with your thoughts and ideas based on class discussion.<br />
How the world defines “set you free”<br />
The true meaning of “set you free”<br />
1. No rules.<br />
2. No fixed “right” and “wrong.”<br />
3. The ability to do whatever we want.<br />
4. Having no constraints on our thoughts<br />
or behavior.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 5 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
ABIDE IN ME REFLECTION ACTIVITY (continued)<br />
5. After reflecting on the above Scripture quotation and listening to the song, “Abide in Me”,<br />
choose one of the essay prompts and write a response.<br />
Option #1: Do popular films, television shows, music, and other forms of popular culture<br />
reveal the truth about the human person? Why do you think so? Use an example of a song,<br />
video, or other media to illustrate your point. Do you think people who do not abide in<br />
Jesus’ word experience true freedom? Why or why not?<br />
Option #2: Jesus wants us to abide in Him and to follow Him as His disciples. How can we<br />
do that when we experience sin? What are some of the ways that we can grow closer to<br />
Jesus, and abide with Him more perfectly? What effects can these efforts have on our lives?<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
60 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 5 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
LIVING OUT THE GIFT<br />
Directions:<br />
Read the information and then complete the chart with your ideas.<br />
Jesus wants human beings to express love<br />
in a way that is fitting for our state of life.<br />
Single people, married people, and those<br />
who have consecrated themselves to God<br />
will all live out this gift in different ways.<br />
They will bear “the fruit of the Spirit” by<br />
charity in action in different ways.<br />
“Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ<br />
and in the Spirit of our God,” “sanctified . . .<br />
[and] called to be saints,” Christians have<br />
become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This<br />
“Spirit of the Son” teaches them to pray to<br />
the Father and, having become their life,<br />
prompts them to act so as to bear “the fruit<br />
of the Spirit” by charity in action. Healing<br />
the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us<br />
interiorly through a spiritual transformation.<br />
He enlightens and strengthens us to live<br />
as “children of light” through “all that is<br />
good and right and true” (CCC 1695).<br />
State of Life<br />
What actions will help this person live their baptismal calling to<br />
be a disciple of Jesus and a temple of the Holy Spirit?<br />
Single person<br />
Priest or religious<br />
brother or sister<br />
Married person<br />
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MINI-LESSON 6<br />
Purity and Chastity<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 2338–2339,<br />
2518–2519<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.10.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain how<br />
Christ does not accuse but<br />
instead appeals to the human<br />
heart to be pure. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
45:5, 46:5-6, 49:7; CCC<br />
2517-2519)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
When thinking of the virtues of purity and chastity, we<br />
can sometimes slip into the mindset of simply following<br />
rules to avoid impure thoughts or sexually sinful actions.<br />
Purity and chastity, however, are about so much more<br />
than seeking to avoid sexual sin, sins against modesty,<br />
or occasions of sin. Purity and chastity are virtues that<br />
ennoble the whole person, body and soul. These virtues<br />
help us to live out the plan of God for our lives, in integrity<br />
and wholeness, and bring true freedom and joy. To live<br />
a chaste life, regardless of one’s state in life or circumstances,<br />
is to live body and soul united to God and firm<br />
in the knowledge of who one is — one’s baptismal dignity<br />
and worth as a child of God. The cornerstone of this truth<br />
is what Jesus told us, Himself — “Blessed are the clean in<br />
heart, for they will see God.”<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
“Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.”<br />
MATTHEW 5:8<br />
Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in<br />
him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk<br />
in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we<br />
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.<br />
1 JOHN 1:5–7<br />
62 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Note: This mini-lesson consists of one multi-step activity.<br />
Activity: Demonstrations of the Power of Purity<br />
You will need for each student:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
A half-pint glass jar.<br />
1 cup water.<br />
½ teaspoon baking soda.<br />
1 teaspoon 1% phenolphthalein solution (Note: Phenolphthalein is a common pH indicator<br />
that your science teacher will have, or you can order it here: https://www.<br />
flinnsci.com/products/chemicals/phenolphthalein-solution/. The liquid inside the<br />
jar will be magenta pink.)<br />
1 Color Grid per student (pg. 65 of this guide).<br />
Black paper.<br />
2 Blank Grids per student (pg. 65 of this guide).<br />
Colored pencils.<br />
ӹ White vinegar (Step 3).<br />
ӹ Teaspoons (Step 3).<br />
Step #1: Prepare Jars and Make Observations<br />
A. In advance of class, prepare a half pint glass jar for each student by mixing 1 cup water,<br />
½ teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of 1% phenolphthalein solution.<br />
B. Compose and print the grid of colors. Print, cut out, and tape the grid to the outside<br />
of the jar so the colors face the inside of the jar. Then tape a piece of black paper on<br />
the back of the grid, to conceal the colors.<br />
C. In class, distribute to your students the prepared jars, a blank grid, and a set of colored<br />
pencils. Instruct them to look at the color grid through the magenta-pink colored<br />
water. Have them color their blank grid to record the color of each square in the grid<br />
as they see it through the pink liquid.<br />
Step #2: Scripture Reading<br />
A. Next, have each student read the Biblical Touchstones to themselves and quietly reflect<br />
on one or both of those verses, in the light of the virtue of purity.<br />
B. After a period of reflection, ask each student to journal their thoughts on these Bible<br />
verses.<br />
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Step #3: Revelation of Truth by Purification<br />
A. Then, have each student add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the pink liquid in their jar.<br />
The pink liquid will turn clear.<br />
B. Give each student another empty color grid and, using colored pencils, have them<br />
record the colors that they view through the now-clear liquid.<br />
C. Have them compare the colors they previously observed to the colors they now see.<br />
Step #4: Focus Questions<br />
A. Next, ask your students the following questions:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Did the colors on the grid change, or did your perception change? In other words,<br />
did the truth change, or did your ability to see the truth change? Accept reasoned<br />
answers.<br />
Does the fact that the true colors were at first obscured to our vision make them<br />
any less true? Accept reasoned answers.<br />
What is the connection between the pink liquid and sin? What is the connection<br />
between the vinegar and the Light of God, as described in the Bible verse? The<br />
pink liquid, like sin, affects our ability to see God: Truth who is Jesus Christ. It<br />
makes us less able to see things as they are, as God sees them.<br />
What are the effects of the virtues of purity and chastity? These virtues enable us<br />
to see things as they are, i.e. as God sees them. It helps us see our own and others’<br />
bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.<br />
ӹ How can we become pure of heart? Encourage the class to respond in terms of<br />
abiding in Christ’s Word, as we have been learning throughout these mini-lessons.<br />
B. Wrap up by explaining the following to your students: Jesus does not accuse us in<br />
our sin, but rather, appeals to our hearts to be pure. The “pure in heart” are promised<br />
that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition<br />
of the vision of God. Even now, during our earthly lives, it enables us to see as God<br />
sees, to accept others as “neighbors”; it lets us perceive the human body — ours and our<br />
neighbor’s — as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty (CCC 2519).<br />
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Mini-Lesson 6 Activity<br />
TEACHER RESOURCE<br />
Color Grid<br />
Blank Grid<br />
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MINI-LESSON 7<br />
Prayer and Spirituality<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 364, 2700–2703,<br />
2726–2727<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
7.7.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain the bodysoul<br />
unity in the human<br />
person from the standpoint<br />
of the “language of the<br />
Body.” (<strong>TOB</strong> 9:4, 10:1, 14:6,<br />
15, 16:1-2, 23:4-5, 123:4-5,<br />
125: 1-2, 127:4; CCC 2518,<br />
2521-2524)<br />
7.9.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Point out that as<br />
a result of original sin man<br />
experiences concupiscence<br />
and needs to bring emotions<br />
and desires into harmony<br />
with what is truly good. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
26:5, 31:3, 31:6, 32:3, 33:1-<br />
2, 51:5-6, 54; CCC 397, 400,<br />
405, 1707, 1865, 1949, 2514-<br />
2520, 2534-2535, 2549).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
As a result of Original Sin, human beings experience concupiscence<br />
and need to bring our emotions and desires into harmony<br />
with what is truly good. The key to life in Christ is prayer.<br />
Prayer is how we meet the gaze of our loving Savior who longs<br />
to renew us from within and release us from the bondage<br />
of sin. Many today, however, misunderstand what prayer is.<br />
Influenced by popular psychology, they may view it as a simple<br />
psychological activity. Others, perhaps due to Eastern religion<br />
or New Age influences, think it is an effort of concentration<br />
to center oneself, or reach a mental void. Still others reduce<br />
prayer to ritual words and postures. Some regard prayer as a<br />
waste of time, competing with all the other things they have<br />
to do. The Church teaches that in the battle of prayer, we must<br />
face and correct these erroneous notions (CCC 2726).<br />
Prayer is born of love between God and His sons and<br />
daughters. Just as a true gift of self cannot withhold the<br />
body, prayer also must involve our bodies. As St. Therese<br />
said, “Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look<br />
turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of<br />
love, embracing both trial and joy” (CCC 2559). We see that<br />
prayer involves the whole person, body and soul, as the<br />
giving and receiving of love for that person.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And<br />
your Father who sees in secret will repay you.<br />
MATTHEW 6:6<br />
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from<br />
God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify<br />
God in your body.<br />
1 CORINTHIANS 6:19–20<br />
66 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Scripture Reflection<br />
You will need: art supplies, paper and pencils, and/or internet access.<br />
A. Begin by having your students read Matthew 6:6 in silence and allow time for<br />
contemplation.<br />
B. Next, hold a brief classroom discussion using the following questions as a guide:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What constitutes an “inner room”? Does Jesus mean a physical room in our home?<br />
Or something else? Accept reasoned answers.<br />
Given that He does not necessarily mean a physical room, what does He mean by<br />
“shut the door”? Accept reasoned answers.<br />
ӹ How do the following elements contribute to the inner room that Jesus speaks of?<br />
• Physical surroundings<br />
• Bodily posture and state of being<br />
• Language<br />
• Memory and senses<br />
C. Ask your students to create a work of art, music, or poetry that symbolizes their “inner<br />
room,” where they go to meet the loving gaze of Jesus Christ.<br />
Activity #2: The Human Body in Prayer<br />
You will need: one copy of The Human Body in Prayer worksheet (pg. 69 of this guide)<br />
for each pair of students.<br />
A. Begin by having students choose a partner and give each pair a copy of The Human<br />
Body in Prayer worksheet.<br />
B. Next, give them a few moments to skim over the selections from the Catechism and<br />
underline all the references to the human body.<br />
C. When they have finished, use the Answer Key to debrief on this activity as a large<br />
group, calling on different groups to share their thoughts.<br />
D. Conclude by having students keep the prayer journal described on the worksheet for<br />
two weeks. Let students know that after that time has passed you will check them for<br />
completeness but will not require students to turn them in.<br />
The Human Body in Prayer Answer Key<br />
364 The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely<br />
because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that<br />
is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: Man, though made<br />
of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself<br />
the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest<br />
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perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason<br />
man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and<br />
to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.<br />
2700 Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes<br />
flesh. Yet it is most important that the heart should be present to him to whom we are<br />
speaking in prayer: “Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of<br />
words, but on the fervor of our souls.”<br />
2701 Vocal prayer is an essential element of the Christian life. To his disciples, drawn<br />
by their Master’s silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal prayer, the Our Father. He not only<br />
prayed aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue but, as the Gospels show, he raised<br />
his voice to express his personal prayer, from exultant blessing of the Father to the agony<br />
of Gethsemane.<br />
2702 The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of<br />
our human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our<br />
feelings externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our<br />
supplication.<br />
2703 This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit<br />
and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He<br />
also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it<br />
renders him that perfect homage which is his due.<br />
Activity #3: Saint Quotes<br />
You will need: internet access.<br />
A. Have your students research saint quotes about the mystery of prayer and choose one<br />
quote that they would like to share with the class.<br />
B. You may want to share the St. Therese quote provided in the Teacher Background<br />
paragraph as an example. If students request guidance on where to begin, let them<br />
know a few saints who wrote extensively on prayer including St. Teresa of Avila, St.<br />
John of the Cross, and St. Padre Pio.<br />
For Homework<br />
For the next two weeks, keep a prayer journal. Make special note of the way your body is involved<br />
in your prayer. Are you distracted or helped by your surroundings and the positioning<br />
of your body? What is your posture? What are you doing with your hands? How does your<br />
body express the emotions you experience? How does your body express any consolations<br />
(awareness of God’s love) that you experience?<br />
68 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
THE HUMAN BODY IN PRAYER<br />
Directions:<br />
Read the selections from the Catechism and underline all the references to the<br />
human body in prayer. Be ready to discuss these with your class!<br />
CCC 364<br />
The human body shares in the dignity of “the<br />
image of God”: it is a human body precisely<br />
because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and<br />
it is the whole human person that is intended<br />
to become, in the body of Christ, a temple<br />
of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and<br />
soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition<br />
he sums up in himself the elements of<br />
the material world. Through him they are thus<br />
brought to their highest perfection and can<br />
raise their voice in praise freely given to the<br />
Creator. For this reason man may not despise<br />
his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard<br />
his body as good and to hold it in honor since<br />
God has created it and will raise it up on the<br />
last day.<br />
CCC 2700<br />
Through his Word, God speaks to man. By<br />
words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes flesh.<br />
Yet it is most important that the heart should<br />
be present to him to whom we are speaking in<br />
prayer: “Whether or not our prayer is heard<br />
depends not on the number of words, but on<br />
the fervor of our souls.”<br />
CCC 2701<br />
Vocal prayer is an essential element of the<br />
Christian life. To his disciples, drawn by their<br />
Master’s silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal<br />
prayer, the Our Father. He not only prayed<br />
aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue<br />
but, as the Gospels show, he raised his voice<br />
to express his personal prayer, from exultant<br />
blessing of the Father to the agony of<br />
Gethsemane.<br />
CCC 2702<br />
The need to involve the senses in interior<br />
prayer corresponds to a requirement of our<br />
human nature. We are body and spirit, and we<br />
experience the need to translate our feelings<br />
externally. We must pray with our whole being<br />
to give all power possible to our supplication.<br />
CCC 2703<br />
This need also corresponds to a divine requirement.<br />
God seeks worshippers in Spirit<br />
and in Truth, and consequently living prayer<br />
that rises from the depths of the soul. He also<br />
wants the external expression that associates<br />
the body with interior prayer, for it renders<br />
him that perfect homage which is his due.<br />
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GRADE 8<br />
MINI-LESSONS<br />
——————— • • • ———————<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Lesson 1: We Are Body and Soul<br />
Lesson 2: The Universal Call to Holiness*<br />
Lesson 3: Created Male and Female*<br />
Lesson 4: God’s Plan for Human Sexuality*<br />
ӹ Lesson 5: Offenses against Chastity Part 1*<br />
ӹ Lesson 6: Offenses against Chastity Part 2*<br />
ӹ<br />
Lesson 7: Mercy and Redemption<br />
* This lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete<br />
with their child, and, if presented in school, should be within<br />
single-sex groups of students only.<br />
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MINI-LESSON 1<br />
We Are Body and Soul<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 362–368<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.12.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain what will<br />
happen to the body at the<br />
Resurrection. (cf. <strong>TOB</strong> 64-72;<br />
CCC 997-1001)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
On the sixth day of creation God made Adam a creature<br />
of both physical and spiritual dimensions — an integrated<br />
composite of body and soul.<br />
All human beings are made in the image and likeness of<br />
God and are given the ability to participate in God’s creative<br />
power. Parents give their children a physical nature,<br />
but it is God who gives life by infusing a person’s immortal<br />
soul at the moment of conception. Yet our soul and body<br />
are not separate parts of our being; as humans we are a<br />
spiritual and physical unity.<br />
After the Fall of Adam and Eve, mankind became subject<br />
to death, which brings about a separation of the physical<br />
and spiritual realities of the person. Yet Jesus conquered<br />
death by His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, and gave<br />
us a glimpse of the hope that His victory gives us. Just as<br />
Jesus rose from the dead and presented His glorified self<br />
to the Disciples, so will the Resurrection of the Body at<br />
the end of time be a reunion of our physical and spiritual<br />
natures in a glorified body.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground, and blew into his nostrils the<br />
breath of life, and the man became a living being.<br />
— GENESIS 2:7<br />
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am<br />
wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know. My bones are not hidden<br />
from you, when I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw<br />
me unformed; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.<br />
— PSALM 139:13–16<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Warm Up Questions<br />
A. Begin by reviewing the information in the teacher background with your students.<br />
B. Next, write out Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:7 on the board, and lead the students in a<br />
discussion to answer the following questions:<br />
ӹ Who is God creating in this passage, and what is he “made of”?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What makes humans different from all other living creatures?<br />
What makes human life sacred?<br />
Activity #2: We are Body and Soul<br />
A. Begin by having your students work in pairs to brainstorm a list of things that are a<br />
unity of other things, but in which all the parts are essential to the thing. You may<br />
give the example of coffee, which is composed of coffee beans and hot water, infused<br />
together to make up a cup of coffee.<br />
B. When they have made their lists, have students share their examples with the class.<br />
Then, ask them what makes a human a human. We are body and soul. Both are essential<br />
to our being human.<br />
C. Next, explain the following: We are at the same time a physical and a spiritual creation.<br />
God created Adam as a living being when He breathed into him the breath of life, and<br />
Adam existed in a state of original holiness and justice and grace before he sinned. God,<br />
working through our parents, has formed and ensouled our bodies too. Our bodies and<br />
souls are a part of who we are and what God desires for us. Death, the consequence of<br />
Adam’s fall, in which we share, is the separation of the body and soul. Yet we believe that<br />
the Resurrection of the Dead, of which Christ is the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:23), will<br />
restore all those who sleep in Christ to eternal life, with body and soul united once more.<br />
Activity #3: Scripture Reading and Reflection<br />
A. Have your students read Psalm 139, focusing especially on verses 13–16.<br />
B. As a large group, lead a discussion using the reflection questions below:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
How do verses 13–16 especially illustrate that we are created by God, body and<br />
soul?<br />
How does the Psalmist reflect God’s intimate knowledge of every person?<br />
Which verse stood out to you most? Why?<br />
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MINI-LESSON 2<br />
The Universal Call to Holiness<br />
Note: this lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete with their child, and, if<br />
presented in school, should be within single-sex groups of students only.<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 372–373, 2012–2016,<br />
2331–2332, 2342<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.5.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Compare how the<br />
loving communion of man<br />
and woman is like that of the<br />
Trinity, a communion of persons<br />
who are love and who in<br />
giving and receiving are fruitful.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 9:1-3, 10:4, 14:6,<br />
15:1; CCC 355-357)<br />
8.11.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Describe the idea<br />
of a vocation and how it is the<br />
way one makes a total gift-ofself.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 78, 86; CCC 915-<br />
916, 929, 932, 1579, 1603,<br />
1605, 1618-1620)<br />
8.11.3 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain how God<br />
invites, and does not force,<br />
when he calls someone<br />
to the vocation of married<br />
life, consecrated life, or the<br />
priesthood, leaving the person<br />
free to respond. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
73:3-4, 76:4, 79:8; CCC 915,<br />
1565, 1578, 1599, 1618,<br />
1625-1628, 2233).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
God made men and women to be complementary; we are<br />
made for communion with each other and with Him. What<br />
we willingly do with our bodies we do with our whole person.<br />
Naturally, this puts certain expectations upon us, as<br />
men or as women, and invites us to a perfection of our<br />
whole person, in our actions, our words, and our thoughts.<br />
God calls us to a harmony of our interior and exterior<br />
life: because we are a composite of body and soul, our<br />
call to holiness is an invitation to grow in our physical and<br />
spiritual maturity, and ultimately our own self-mastery.<br />
We are all called to join the saints, who have gone before<br />
us and demonstrated this integrity of the physical and<br />
spiritual life, and who have given us an example of how to<br />
embrace God’s invitation to love as He does.<br />
Biblical Touchstone<br />
When he got home away from the crowd his disciples<br />
questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are<br />
even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize<br />
that everything that goes into a person from outside<br />
cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach<br />
and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared<br />
all foods clean.) “But what comes out of a person, that is<br />
what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come<br />
evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed,<br />
malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance,<br />
folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”<br />
— MARK 7:17–23<br />
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To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Lumen Gentium<br />
You will need: The text of the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church Lumen Gentium, which<br />
can be found at: SophiaOnline.org/LumenGentium.<br />
A. Read Paragraphs 40 and 41 of Lumen Gentium together and present the following<br />
questions in a discussion. Ask your students to use the text to support their answers.<br />
These paragraphs illustrate how all Christians, regardless of their function within the<br />
Church, are called to live the same upright and pious lives because “holiness is one.”<br />
ӹ In paragraph 40: What is the calling of every Christian? Jesus calls all to love God<br />
and invites all people to “love God with their whole heart and their whole soul” and<br />
to extend this love others. We are all sinners who need God’s help and forgiveness<br />
to live as He wishes us to. As more accept Christ’s invitation to holiness, the more<br />
visible the holiness of the Church will become to all.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
In the first section of paragraph 41: What does it mean that “holiness is one?” God<br />
calls all the faithful equally to share in His life and gives each person unique gifts<br />
to help him or her accomplish this.<br />
In the second, third, and fourth sections of paragraph 41: What does holiness<br />
look like in the earthly leadership of the Church? Bishops are called especially to<br />
live like Christ, working to serve the Church and even lay down their lives as an<br />
example. Priests, deacons, and other ministers are called to a similar life of prayer<br />
and service, especially in cooperation with their bishops.<br />
In the fifth section of Paragraph 41: What does holiness look like in the married<br />
laity? Accept reasoned answers. A married couple “should follow their own proper<br />
path (to holiness) by faithful love.” They must raise their children in the Faith<br />
and must live as an example of the sacrificial love exemplified by Christ for His<br />
Church. It is also their responsibility, because they are in the world, to sanctify<br />
society through their good work and example.<br />
Activity #2: Guard Your Heart<br />
A. Begin by asking your students what they think it means to guard your heart. To protect<br />
your heart from pursuing evil inclinations, to keep your heart clean and pure by being<br />
wary of occasions of temptation, knowing your own weaknesses, praying for grace and<br />
divine intercession, and by controlling to the best of your ability what you experience<br />
through your bodily senses, so you do not succumb to temptations to sin.<br />
B. Next, read Mark 7:17–23 aloud.<br />
C. Draw a T-chart on the board and write out on the left side of the chart the sins that<br />
come from the heart, listed by Jesus in the Gospel. Review the list with your class,<br />
ensuring they understand what each sin on the list is.<br />
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D. Then, explain the following to your students: To defile is to make something unclean<br />
or to violate the sanctity of something. Jesus shares a list of acts that make a person<br />
unclean in the sight of God and destroy their relationship with Him. He teaches that<br />
these sinful acts emerge from the heart. Committing these acts causes incredible harm to<br />
ourselves and to others and damages our relationship with God. Jesus’ teaching shows us<br />
how important it is to guard our hearts, for all evil deeds and desires come from within<br />
the person.<br />
E. Conclude by having your students work in pairs or small groups to create lists of ways<br />
we can guard our hearts from the inclination to sin. Have them think of a virtuous<br />
practice to correspond with each sin listed on the board.<br />
F. When they are finished, have groups share and discuss their lists with the class.<br />
76 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
MINI-LESSON 3<br />
Created Male and Female<br />
Note: this lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete with their child, and, if<br />
presented in school, should be within single-sex groups of students only.<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 371–373, 2331–2336,<br />
2360–2363<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.5.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Compare how the<br />
loving communion of man<br />
and woman is like that of the<br />
Trinity, a communion of persons<br />
who are love and who in<br />
giving and receiving are fruitful.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 9:1-3, 10:4, 14:6,<br />
15:1; CCC 355-357)<br />
8.11.5 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain that<br />
when God calls two people<br />
to the vocation of marriage,<br />
he is inviting them into a special<br />
sacrament of his love.<br />
(Ephesians 5 and <strong>TOB</strong> 87-<br />
93; CCC 1601, 1604).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
A couple united in marriage demonstrates the importance<br />
of the difference between the sexes. While man and woman<br />
are equal in dignity because they are both created in<br />
the image of God, there is an inherent difference between<br />
the two. This difference reflects the unique, complementary,<br />
dimensions of masculinity and femininity. God made<br />
Adam and Eve in a state of marriage, and Adam instantly<br />
recognized Eve as his partner and companion.<br />
The male and female sexes together reflect the completion<br />
and communion of humanity, reflecting the perfection<br />
and harmony of the Holy Trinity. Just as God is an eternal<br />
and life-giving communion of the Father, Son, and Holy<br />
Spirit, so too do man and woman possess the ability to enter<br />
into a permanent, loving and life-giving relationship in<br />
marriage. God commanded Man and Woman to “be fertile<br />
and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). This command was an invitation for<br />
Adam and Eve to participate in God’s own generative ability<br />
and, through their marriage union, cooperate with God in<br />
creating new life.<br />
God’s image and likeness is reflected in both man and<br />
woman, “with equal dignity though in a different way”<br />
(CCC 2334). A husband and wife that join in marriage and<br />
lovingly give themselves to the other, join with God in<br />
participating in a life-giving love. They become “one body”<br />
(Gen. 2:24) and so can embody God’s own creative love,<br />
primarily through bearing and educating children.<br />
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Biblical Touchstones<br />
God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he<br />
created them.<br />
— GENESIS 1:27<br />
The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.<br />
— GENESIS 2:18<br />
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Creation of Adam<br />
You will need: Image of Michelangelo’s fresco The Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel,<br />
which can be found at: SophiaOnline.org/CreationOfAdam, and the means to project it for<br />
your students.<br />
A. Project for your class the image of the creation of Adam by Michelangelo.<br />
B. Lead your students in an examination and discussion of the figures in the painting<br />
using the following guide:<br />
ӹ Who are the figures in the painting? Adam is on the ground to the left; God and a<br />
heavenly host of figures on the right.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
How is the painting organized? Adam and God are looking at each other and are<br />
reaching out toward each other. There are many other figures surrounding God.<br />
How are the figures positioned in relation to each other? The figure of Adam<br />
is looking toward God and beyond to the female and child figures. God is looking<br />
toward Adam and is reaching toward him as well as holding his arm around the<br />
female and child figures. The female figure is looking toward Adam. The figure of<br />
the child is looking “beyond” the painting, perhaps toward the viewer.<br />
God’s left arm is wrapping around a female figure: what female figures in the life<br />
of the Church could this symbolize? Possible answers are Eve, women collectively,<br />
Mary, or even the Church herself.<br />
God’s left hand is resting on a child: who might this represent? God’s left hand and<br />
the child are almost a reflection of God’s right hand and Adam. This figure might<br />
represent the children of Adam and Eve, Cain, Abel, or Seth; children of a husband<br />
and wife in general; or even Jesus Himself.<br />
What do you think it means if Adam and God are looking at each other? Adam and God<br />
are reaching for each other because Adam desires communion with God, his Creator.<br />
What do you think it means if Adam and the female figure are looking at each<br />
other? If we interpret the figure to be Eve, the text of Genesis 2 comes to life, and<br />
we see God’s understanding that Adam should not be alone; He has already planned<br />
a companion for Adam.<br />
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Activity #2: Man and Woman Were Created as Companions<br />
You will need: one Complementary Chart (pg. 81 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by summarizing the information in the Teacher Background essay. Emphasize<br />
the equal dignity of man and woman, the concept of complementarity, and how it<br />
reflects the love of the Holy Trinity.<br />
B. Next, explain the following: Things complement each other when they complete, or perfect,<br />
each other. A complementary relationship enhances each person’s gifts, and draws<br />
each person into a closer relationship with God.<br />
C. Then, have students give examples of things in daily life that complement each other<br />
— especially those where one of each pair cannot be fully understood except in<br />
light of the other.<br />
ӹ If students know what complementary angles are, you might mention those as<br />
an example.<br />
ӹ Movies and soundtracks<br />
ӹ Quarterbacks and receivers<br />
ӹ Dancing partners<br />
D. Read Ephesians 5:21-33 aloud and ask students to summarize what they heard.<br />
Acknowledge that some find this Scripture difficult to accept because we are so used<br />
to thinking that “equal” must mean the same. The truth is that men and women are<br />
equal, both beautifully and lovingly made, but not the same.<br />
E. Next, distribute the Complementary Chart to your students and have them list as<br />
many of the differences (physical, emotional, role-related, and so forth) between a<br />
man/husband and a woman/wife as they can, then answer the reflection questions.<br />
F. When they are finished, review and discuss their answers.<br />
G. Conclude by explaining the following to your students: The natural differences between<br />
men and women are what make them complementary as spouses and as parents.<br />
Men and women, who are equal in dignity, have different and respective strengths, roles,<br />
powers, and gifts, according to God’s loving plan for the human family. By God’s design,<br />
the bond of marriage between a man and woman, who are equal, but very different,<br />
forms something greater than the sum of its parts. Their marriage is a sign to the world<br />
of Christ’s love for His Church.<br />
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Activity #3: The Family Reflects the Trinity<br />
A. Begin by drawing a T-chart on the board with the following headings: “Ways my family<br />
makes me feel loved” and “Ways I show my love to my family.” Invite students to come<br />
up to the board in small groups to write in one thing at a time until all students have<br />
written at least once.<br />
B. After all students have written one example, invite them to come up again if there are<br />
any different examples that they want to add to the chart. Then review the chart with<br />
the class and ask students to comment on what they see.<br />
C. Finally, lead the class in a discussion about how these actions express love, and how<br />
they show the complementary nature of family life.<br />
D. Explain the following: We are created to give and receive love, which reflects the perfect<br />
love between the Holy Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in an eternal relationship<br />
and communion of love. A holy marriage creates a communion of persons in a<br />
way that echoes, and even points to, the Holy Trinity. Just as the love between the Father<br />
and the Son begets the Holy Spirit, so too, by God’s design, the love between husband and<br />
wife is life-giving (even if they cannot physically have children).<br />
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Mini-Lesson 3 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
COMPLEMENTARY CHART<br />
Directions:<br />
List in the chart below as many examples as you can of how men/husbands/<br />
fathers are naturally different from women/wives/mothers. Then re-read<br />
Ephesians 5:21-33 and answer the questions that follow.<br />
Man/Husband/Father<br />
Woman/Wife/Mother<br />
Read Ephesians 5:21-33. How does the union between husband and wife reflect the mystical<br />
union between Christ and His Church? How does this Scripture evidence to you the way God<br />
created man and women equal, yet with different roles? How is the vocation of a husband different<br />
from the vocation of a wife, and vice versa?<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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MINI-LESSON 4<br />
God’s Plan for Human Sexuality<br />
Note: this lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete with their child, and, if<br />
presented in school, should be within single-sex groups of students only.<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 1644, 1652, 2336,<br />
2337–2350, 2361, 2363<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.5.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Compare how the<br />
loving communion of man<br />
and woman is like that of the<br />
Trinity, a communion of persons<br />
who are love and who in<br />
giving and receiving are fruitful.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 9:1-3, 10:4, 14:6,<br />
15:1; CCC 355-357)<br />
8.11.5 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain that<br />
when God calls two people<br />
to the vocation of marriage,<br />
he is inviting them into a special<br />
sacrament of his love.<br />
(Ephesians 5 and <strong>TOB</strong> 87-<br />
93; CCC 1601, 1604).<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Our sexuality is a gift from God and a part of our nature<br />
that is “ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman”<br />
(CCC 2360). Sexuality refers to far more than just the physical<br />
sexual act. God created our bodies, and He created<br />
marriage as the authentic context for the sexual act to be<br />
fulfilled. God intended sexuality to be ordered toward the<br />
procreation of children and the union of spouses (the procreative<br />
and unitive aspects of the martial act). The sexual<br />
act is an incredibly personal experience and marriage<br />
helps protect each person in a permanent, life-giving, and<br />
loving bond. In this way, marriage defends the dignity of<br />
all human beings.<br />
All the baptized are called to a life of chastity. A married<br />
couple lives out chastity through fidelity to their spouse.<br />
A single person is called to respect the place of sexuality<br />
within marriage and should find other ways of expressing<br />
love and affection that respect the sacred nature of sexuality.<br />
Modesty, an under-valued virtue in our culture today,<br />
opens the door to embracing chastity. How we carry<br />
and treat ourselves reflects how we view and treat others.<br />
It is important that we understand and respect our own<br />
dignity as well as that of others.<br />
The Church’s teachings on chastity and sexual ethics<br />
are not burdensome rules but rather help us become the<br />
selfless, loving people that God has made us to be. These<br />
teachings help us to treat others with the love and dignity<br />
they deserve, and they are reflections of the truths that<br />
we are called by God to love and that our entire being is a<br />
sacred reality and a gift from God.<br />
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Biblical Touchstones<br />
The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he<br />
brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my<br />
flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.”<br />
— GENESIS 2:22–23<br />
This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know<br />
how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles<br />
who do not know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord<br />
is an avenger in all these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. For God did not<br />
call us to impurity but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human<br />
being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you.<br />
— 1 THESSALONIANS 4:3–8<br />
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Purposes of Marriage<br />
A. Begin by summarizing and presenting the information in the Teacher Background essay.<br />
B. Our students live in a culture that defines the purpose of marriage as the pleasure<br />
of the spouses, accepts gay marriage, and accepts contraceptive use. Therefore, it<br />
is helpful for them to understand the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church.<br />
Several common errors—the idea that marriage is for the pleasure of the spouses, the<br />
acceptance of contraception, and the acceptance of gay marriage—all arise from the<br />
same misunderstanding of the purpose of marriage and sexuality.<br />
C. Write on the board a selection of quotes:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
“[T]he principal end of matrimony, [is] the good of the offspring. …[T]he secondary<br />
end of matrimony, […] is the mutual services which married persons render<br />
one another in household matters” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Supplement, Q 41. A1).<br />
“Amongst the blessings of marriage, the child holds the first place… there are<br />
also secondary ends, such as mutual aid, the cultivating of mutual love, and the<br />
quieting of concupiscence ” (Casti Connubi, 11, 59).<br />
ӹ “No human law can abolish the natural and original right of marriage, nor in any<br />
way limit the chief and principal purpose of marriage ordained by God’s authority<br />
from the beginning: ‘Increase and multiply’ (Rerum Novarum, 12).<br />
ӹ<br />
“Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation<br />
and education of children” (Humanae Vitae, 9).<br />
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D. Discuss how the purpose of marriage does not mean infertile people should not<br />
marry or that their marriages are invalid. The Church recognizes infertility as a cross<br />
many couples bear, and calls us to support and treat them compassionately. Through<br />
Socratic questioning, help students realize they already know this:<br />
ӹ Does a person with hearing loss change the true purpose of ears as for hearing?<br />
ӹ<br />
Does a car that won’t start mean that the purpose of cars is not for driving?<br />
ӹ Similarly, the fact that some couples are unable to have children does not change<br />
the true purpose of marriage.<br />
E. Conclude that marriage is the total, faithful, and fruitful gift of self between husband<br />
and wife according to God’s plan. The Catechism teaches the purposes of marriage<br />
are “the good of the spouses and the transmission of life. These two meanings or<br />
values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and<br />
compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.” (CCC 2363). The<br />
Church calls these ends the unitive and the procreative ends of marriage, and while<br />
they are two distinct things, they cannot be separated. This teaching, while it is very<br />
counter-cultural, flows from the Church’s true understanding of the human person,<br />
and helps us see why the use of contraception and homosexual activity are always<br />
morally wrong.<br />
Activity #2: Chastity is a Virtue<br />
You will need: one Chastity is a Virtue worksheet (pg. 86 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Write on the board “What is chastity?” Invite students to suggest definitions to gauge<br />
their understanding, and then share with them the definition from the Catechism:<br />
“The moral virtue which, under the cardinal virtue of temperance, provides for the<br />
successful integration of sexuality within the person leading to the inner unity of the<br />
bodily and spiritual being” (CCC Glossary).<br />
B. Next, explain the following: Chastity is a virtue, which means practicing it requires<br />
self-control and intentionality. Chastity preserves and guards our sexuality so it can be<br />
fulfilled in the fitting and appropriate context of marriage. All the baptized are called to<br />
a life of chastity, but chastity is understood differently depending on a person’s station<br />
of life and marital status. A married couple lives out chastity through being faithful to<br />
their spouse and not engaging in lustful thoughts or in any sexual activities that would<br />
wound or violate their vows of faithfulness to each other. A single, unmarried person is<br />
called to respect the place of sexuality within marriage and should find other ways of<br />
expressing love and affection that respect the sacred nature of sexuality.<br />
C. Then, distribute the Chastity is a Virtue worksheet and have your students work<br />
individually to complete it.<br />
D. When they are finished, review and discuss their answers as a class.<br />
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Activity #3: The Catechism on Chastity<br />
You will need: drawing or construction paper and markers and/or colored pencils.<br />
A. Begin by reading aloud CCC 2337–2338.<br />
B. Next, arrange students into small groups and distribute paper and coloring materials.<br />
Instruct the groups to design a single page magazine ad that defends chastity and<br />
the authentic expression of sexuality. Write the following questions on the board for<br />
students to answer or address in their ads:<br />
ӹ Why is sexuality itself good?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Why is chastity essential to treating others as they deserve to be treated?<br />
Why is chastity essential to treating oneself properly?<br />
Why is the marital act a gift of the whole self and not just the body? (Hint: How<br />
did God create us?)<br />
ӹ Why is it, as a total gift of self, something that can only truly happen within a<br />
sacramental marriage?<br />
C. When they have finished, have groups share their ads with the class.<br />
D. Finally, address the following question with the entire class: Some critique the<br />
Catholic Church, in all her teachings on sexual ethics, as being against sex. Why is<br />
this not actually the case? Help students understand that like all things, sexuality is a<br />
gift from God and is a part of our desire for communion. The Church desires to uphold<br />
human dignity and God’s purposes for all relationships, including sexual relationships.<br />
The virtue of chastity is meant to help us appreciate the gift of sexuality and understand<br />
it in the right context of marriage. Because the marital act is both unitive and procreative,<br />
we want to be in a relationship that supports us, gives us life, and complements<br />
us: marriage is the life-long fulfillment of this desire according to God’s plan.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 4 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
CHASTITY IS A VIRTUE<br />
Directions:<br />
Answer the questions below.<br />
1. The Church teaches that chastity is a virtue. What are some everyday things we can do to<br />
help us form the habit of chastity?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. What do you think are the most difficult barriers to chastity and modesty in American popular<br />
culture today?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. How widespread are these barriers to chastity? What effect do you think they have on our<br />
society?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. In your opinion, what responsibility do we have as consumers of media (TV, films, video<br />
games, social media, etc.) as we strive to live chastely?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
5. Do you think courage is needed to acquire the virtue of chastity? Explain.<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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MINI-LESSON 5<br />
Offenses against Chastity Part 1<br />
Note: this lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete with their child, and, if<br />
presented in school, should be within single-sex groups of students only.<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 2239, 2351–2352,<br />
2355, 2395<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.1.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Propose that creation<br />
should be received as<br />
a gift and not manipulated,<br />
dominated and controlled.<br />
(cf. <strong>TOB</strong> 13:3-4, 59:3; CCC<br />
358, 373)<br />
8.6.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Give examples of<br />
how a person is pure in heart,<br />
that is, when he/she perceives<br />
and respects others<br />
as a gift and seeks to make<br />
a gift of him/herself to others.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 50, 54, 57:3; CCC 2518,<br />
2519)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
All of creation is good, therefore all sins are at their root<br />
a misuse or neglect of something good. The sins against<br />
chastity can be understood as disordered expressions of<br />
the love that God calls us to and distortions of the true<br />
purpose of human sexuality. The sins against sexuality<br />
ultimately reduce a person from someone to be loved to<br />
something to be used, which dehumanizes and degrades<br />
all participants. Chastity calls all people to a way of life<br />
that respects the purpose of human sexuality. God gave<br />
sexuality as a gift to humanity as a way of living in a loving<br />
relationship that mirrors the love of God Himself in the<br />
Trinity. In this relationship, a couple cooperates with God<br />
in His sacred act of Creation. God gave the Israelites the<br />
Sixth and the Ninth Commandments to help steer them<br />
away from the evils of viewing or treating another person<br />
as an object of desire, and Christ continues and deepens<br />
this understanding in His own teachings.<br />
Lust is a harmful way of looking at another person and<br />
viewing them as an object for one’s own pleasure. Lust is<br />
different from sexual attraction: it is a “disordered desire<br />
for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure” (CCC 2351).<br />
More than just a feeling, lust is a pattern of thought and<br />
imagination that comes from habits of sexual thoughts<br />
contrary to chastity. Lust is harmful to the person experiencing<br />
it because it wounds their ability to truly see and<br />
respect other people. Lust also wounds the other because<br />
it undermines their dignity and reduces them to a sexualized<br />
object in the eyes of the viewer.<br />
Pornography is designed specifically to arouse lust. It<br />
is wrong to view pornography or use it in any way because<br />
it separates sexual pleasure from married love. Far<br />
from a victimless crime, it breeds distorted views of sexual<br />
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intimacy and addictive tendencies. Furthermore, many actors in pornographic films are victims<br />
of human trafficking or are pressured or forced into their situations. Even if the people involved<br />
believe themselves to be consenting adults, they are victims of a culture that undermines the<br />
true value of sexuality. But even more, we must always remember that consent to an action does<br />
not make it right.<br />
Masturbation, the deliberate stimulation of one’s own sexual organs, removes sexual activity<br />
from its intended purpose. It is an act that falls short of the love of our own person that God calls<br />
us to, because sexual pleasure itself is a gift from God tied intimately to the physical expression<br />
of love in marriage. It is an offense against personal human dignity.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
You shall not commit adultery… You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.<br />
DEUTERONOMY 5:18, 21<br />
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who<br />
looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”<br />
MATTHEW 5:27–28<br />
To do with your students:<br />
Activity #1: Teaching in Scripture<br />
A. Begin by having your students read Deuteronomy 5:18 (the Sixth Commandment) and<br />
then Matthew 5:27–30 (Jesus’ teachings on Lust in the Sermon on the Mount).<br />
B. Next, lead the class in a group discussion using the following prompts. Allow students<br />
to continue to refer to their Bibles as you discuss the questions.<br />
ӹ What is the context of each passage? The Ten Commandments and the Sermon<br />
on the Mount.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Why does Jesus reference the Ten Commandments in His sermon? Allow students<br />
to brainstorm ideas; eventually have them to turn to Matthew 5:17: “Do not think<br />
that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but<br />
to fulfill.” Jesus references the Law to show that He is the Messiah; the anointed one<br />
of the Lord who has come to give us a deeper relationship with God.<br />
How does Jesus expand upon the traditional Jewish teaching to reflect the true<br />
intent of God’s desire for our relationships? Jesus helps us see that what is in our<br />
hearts matters, adultery is not limited to sexual relations with another.<br />
Why does every person possess dignity? This question should help to remind students<br />
that all people are created in the image and likeness of God.<br />
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ӹ<br />
How does avoiding lust help us to love our neighbor and fully respect his or her<br />
dignity? When we commit the sin of lust, we view another person as something<br />
rather than someone; we think only of how we can use that person for our own<br />
pleasure or gain. The reality of dignity demands that we love each person.<br />
Activity #2: Self-Mastery<br />
You will need: one Self-Mastery worksheet (pg. 90 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by writing CCC 2395 on the board: “Chastity means the integration of sexuality<br />
within the person. It includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery.”<br />
B. Next, distribute the Self-Mastery worksheet and have students work individually to<br />
complete it.<br />
C. When they are finished, review and discuss their answers as a class.<br />
D. Conclude by reading aloud CCC 2339.<br />
E. Help students understand that all passions must be tempered; we need to learn how to<br />
control not just our emotions and impulses but also our desires and activities. We alone,<br />
out of all the animals, are created in the image of God. We can freely choose, unlike<br />
animals, to moderate our impulses. If we act in a way that is less than human, we deny<br />
our dignity and reject our relationship as children of God.<br />
Activity #3: Prayerful Meditation<br />
A. Create a prayerful atmosphere in your classroom. Then lead your students in a guided<br />
meditation of Colossians 3:5–17. Pause and allow the students to think.<br />
B. Then read the passage a second time. Ask the class the following questions:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What sorts of sins does St. Paul encourage us to “put to death”? Immorality, impurity,<br />
passion, evil desire, idolatry, angry, fury, malice, slander, obscene language,<br />
lying. We are also encouraged to stop seeing each other mainly by our race or nationality<br />
and instead understand that “Christ is all and in all.”<br />
What do “immorality,” “impurity,” and “passion” refer to? Lust and sinful activities.<br />
Impurity often has a sexual connotation, especially in reference to passion.<br />
What sorts of virtues does St. Paul encourage us to “put on”? Compassion, kindness,<br />
humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, thankfulness.<br />
ӹ How can these virtues help us actively combat the temptations and sins that St.<br />
Paul lists earlier? Accept reasoned responses.<br />
C. Finally, read the passage a third time. Ask your students to write a one-to-two paragraph<br />
response to the following reflection questions:<br />
ӹ What strikes you most in this passage from Colossians?<br />
ӹ<br />
What do you think God is telling you in this passage?<br />
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Mini-Lesson 5 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
SELF-MASTERY<br />
Directions:<br />
Answer the questions below. Be prepared to share your answers with the class.<br />
1. What is an apprenticeship? How are childhood and adolescence like an apprenticeship?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. What does it mean to master oneself?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. What might an “apprenticeship in self-mastery” look like? Would it be difficult? Explain.<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. How do you think the “apprenticeship in self-mastery” is connected to chastity?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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MINI-LESSON 6<br />
Offenses against Chastity Part 2<br />
Note: this lesson should be sent home for parents to review or complete with their child, and, if<br />
presented in school, should be within single-sex groups of students only.<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 2333, 2353,<br />
2355–2359<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.1.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Propose that creation<br />
should be received as<br />
a gift and not manipulated,<br />
dominated and controlled.<br />
(cf. <strong>TOB</strong> 13:3-4, 59:3; CCC<br />
358, 373)<br />
8.6.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Give examples of<br />
how a person is pure in heart,<br />
that is, when he/she perceives<br />
and respects others<br />
as a gift and seeks to make<br />
a gift of him/herself to others.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 50, 54, 57:3; CCC<br />
2518, 2519)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Without the complete gift of self to the other person that<br />
becomes possible through a sacramental marriage, the<br />
sexual act, regardless of affection or intent, becomes only<br />
a shadow of the true beauty and purpose God intends<br />
for it. The sexual act is an incredibly personal experience<br />
and marriage helps protect each person in a permanent,<br />
life-giving, and loving bond. As we have learned, in this<br />
way marriage defends the dignity of all human beings.<br />
Fornication, or sex outside of marriage, deprives participants<br />
of that protection.<br />
Prostitution, which has sometimes been termed “sex<br />
work” in an attempt to legitimize it, terribly distorts what<br />
should be the most intimate and private of acts into a<br />
commodity that can be bought and sold. It reduces the<br />
participants to objects, further feeds the vice of lust, and<br />
drives the industry of sex trafficking. Some feminists have<br />
tried to legitimize prostitution as a valid line of work.<br />
But no little girl, when she looks ahead to adulthood,<br />
dreams of being a prostitute. Far from liberating women,<br />
prostitution traps them in abusive situations. And<br />
like contraception and abortion, (which some feminists<br />
also claim to be liberating) it actually deprives women of<br />
the dignity and protection of marriage and, ironically, in<br />
fact “frees” men from the responsibilities of marriage and<br />
childrearing.<br />
Rape and incest are terrible acts of sexual abuse, especially<br />
when perpetrated against children. The aggressors<br />
violate the body, the free will, and the human dignity of the<br />
victim. These acts are a complete distortion and perversion<br />
of the sexual act.<br />
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People with homosexual inclinations face many difficulties, and they must not be made to<br />
feel as if they are evil because of an inclination that they did not choose. Same-sex attraction is<br />
not sinful. However, dwelling or acting on disordered temptations is always sinful, whether in<br />
the form of gluttony, drunkenness, or homosexual activity. Homosexual acts are not open to the<br />
creation of new life and do not reflect the complementarity of man and woman that God exalted<br />
within marriage. Those who experience homosexual inclinations are called, like all people, to<br />
live a chaste life, respecting the unitive and procreative nature of sexuality. God loves every<br />
human person and has made each of us capable of living out His will.<br />
Biblical Touchstones<br />
You shall not commit adultery…You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.<br />
DEUTERONOMY 5:18, 21<br />
Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done<br />
with love.<br />
1 CORINTHIANS 6:13–14<br />
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: The Demands of Love<br />
A. Begin by reading through CCC 2391. Students may need help defining certain terms<br />
within this text (e.g. carnal, liaison, and so forth).<br />
B. Pose the following questions to your students, and respond to any other questions<br />
that students might have:<br />
ӹ Why is it difficult to live a chaste life when cohabitating, or living a “trial marriage”?<br />
A young unmarried couple in love may find it very difficult to play out married<br />
life without being tempted toward the sexual part of the relationship, especially<br />
when living together.<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Why might many young people choose to live together outside of marriage?<br />
Answers might include the idea of “trying out” marriage, indifference toward or<br />
distrust of marriage (perhaps because of negative family experiences), expense of<br />
weddings, financial trouble or job insecurity, ignorance of the sinful nature of the<br />
arrangement due to the normalization of cohabitation in our culture, etc.<br />
How could living together before marriage affect a married couple’s risk of<br />
separating later? The ideas of a “trial” marriage is based on the assumption that<br />
couples who experience conflict should not marry. This mindset may lead to separation<br />
when inevitable conflicts arise. Failure to commit early on can lead to one<br />
92 © SOPHIA INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS
doubting one’s own or the other’s ability to stay committed later on. Living a “trial<br />
marriage” (CCC 2391) in cohabitation can also lead to a sense of marriage itself<br />
being a non-committal and non-binding act. Marriage preparation in the Catholic<br />
Church helps the future spouses to adequately prepare for the Sacrament of Holy<br />
Matrimony in a way that cohabitation cannot.<br />
ӹ<br />
Why is it important to encourage cohabitating couples to pursue marriage, if<br />
they are otherwise avoiding it? Accept reasoned responses. There are many reasons<br />
why couples may avoid marriage, but the “total and definitive gift of persons<br />
to one another” (CCC 2391) is only possible within a sacramental Marriage. True<br />
love, and a truly good expression of sexuality, requires a true commitment, which<br />
is missing when a couple only cohabitates.<br />
Activity #2: Attacks against Dignity<br />
A. Begin by presenting for your students the material in the Teacher Background essay<br />
on fornication, prostitution, rape, incest, and homosexuality. These are sensitive topics<br />
but ones which students need to understand correctly. Help students recognize first<br />
and foremost that fornication, prostitution, rape, and incest are all direct and purposeful<br />
attacks against another person’s dignity. You may need to define concepts such as<br />
human trafficking. At the end, remind students that the Church’s teachings on human<br />
sexuality can help us protect, defend, and minister to the victims of these terrible acts.<br />
Emphasize the pastoral message of the Church: all people are called to chastity, and all<br />
are welcomed.<br />
B. Next, lead your class in a short group discussion:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
What is the purpose of sexuality, as it has been designed by God? This review question<br />
should help students remember the unitive and procreative aspects of sexuality.<br />
What does our culture say is the purpose of the sexual act? Personal fulfillment,<br />
intimacy, or pleasure seeking.<br />
Why is the Church’s teaching on homosexual activity so countercultural? It is<br />
counter to the notion that sex is for personal fulfillment, intimacy, or pleasure.<br />
Homosexual activity (while it can unite two people physically) cannot be a complete<br />
gift of self because it is closed to the possibility of life. Like the use of contraception, it<br />
removes the procreative purposes of marriage. Note, however, that homosexual activity<br />
cannot be truly said to be unitive either, because it does not take place within a<br />
sacramental marriage that allows a couple to grow closer to God as well as each other.<br />
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Activity #3: Courage International<br />
You will need: links to the website of Courage International:<br />
SophiaOnline.org/CourageMission, SophiaOnline.org/CourageFAQs.<br />
A. Begin by informing your class that together you will be looking at the website for<br />
Courage International, an apostolate that seeks to help Catholics with homosexual<br />
inclinations to live a chaste and celibate life.<br />
B. Next, project for them the page detailing the Overview & Mission of Courage,<br />
found at: SophiaOnline.org/CourageMission, followed by the FAQs page, found at:<br />
SophiaOnline.org/CourageFAQs. (Note: The Church’s offer of mercy and love is often<br />
misunderstood. Be sure to receive students’ questions compassionately and provide pastoral<br />
responses with care.)<br />
C. Guide a discussion using the following prompts:<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
How does Courage demonstrate God’s love for every person? It encourages a<br />
deeply faithful, sacramental life, that allows people to grow in selfless love for each<br />
other and for God.<br />
How does Courage seek to uphold Catholic teachings on sexuality while embracing<br />
Christ’s call for mercy? They recognize that living a faithfully Catholic life<br />
in this culture is very difficult, but they nevertheless seek to help people recognize<br />
their own purpose.<br />
What can fellow Catholics do to help those who experience homosexual inclinations<br />
feel included, welcomed, and loved in the Church? Remind students of<br />
the Gospel story of the woman caught in adultery: every person faces temptations,<br />
and we all struggle with sin. Some sins seem more private, or easier to hide, than<br />
others, but we are all working to be saints, and it takes a great deal of effort and<br />
trust in God’s grace.<br />
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MINI-LESSON 7<br />
Mercy and Redemption<br />
CCC<br />
CCC 733–736, 1443–1445,<br />
2838–2849<br />
Standards<br />
for Christian<br />
Anthropology<br />
8.6.1 <strong>TOB</strong> Give examples of<br />
how a person is pure in heart,<br />
that is, when he/she perceives<br />
and respects others<br />
as a gift and seeks to make<br />
a gift of him/herself to others.<br />
(<strong>TOB</strong> 50, 54, 57:3; CCC<br />
2518, 2519)<br />
8.11.3 <strong>TOB</strong> Explain how God<br />
invites, and does not force,<br />
when he calls someone<br />
to the vocation of married<br />
life, consecrated life, or the<br />
priesthood, leaving the person<br />
free to respond. (<strong>TOB</strong><br />
73:3-4, 76:4, 79:8; CCC 915,<br />
1565, 1578, 1599, 1618,<br />
1625-1628, 2233)<br />
Teacher Background<br />
Sin wounds our relationship with God, but it also wounds<br />
us and our relationships with other people. Our spiritual<br />
healing is inextricably woven into how we offer and seek<br />
forgiveness. God calls us out of a life of sin, not simply because<br />
sin offends Him, but because it destroys our relationship<br />
with Him. Through Baptism, we receive the grace and<br />
strength to live in friendship and peace with God and His<br />
people. We often fail in this calling, however, and so the life<br />
of a Christian is one ever mindful of God’s love and mercy.<br />
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32) illustrates<br />
the depths of sin into which we fall and the willingness of God<br />
to extend His mercy to us. The younger son wasted his inheritance<br />
on prostitutes: he also engaged in practices that are<br />
damaging to the institution of the family. The father, however,<br />
extended love and mercy to his fallen son and welcomed him<br />
back from a living death with forgiveness and a loving embrace.<br />
Sin is a failure to love as we truly should. Our own selfishness<br />
often impedes our ability to love others as full persons<br />
made in the image and likeness of God, and we risk treating<br />
others as objects or as means to an end. All people bear the<br />
image of God, are loved by Him, and are therefore deserving<br />
of our love, mercy, and forgiveness. Just as we turn to God and<br />
realize our own brokenness and seek His forgiveness, so too<br />
are we encouraged to extend that forgiveness to others just as<br />
freely as we have received it.<br />
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Biblical Touchstones<br />
Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Blessed is the man to whom<br />
the LORD imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit.<br />
PSALM 32:1–2<br />
His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve<br />
to be called your son.” But his father ordered his servants, “Quickly bring the finest robe and put<br />
it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter<br />
it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life<br />
again; he was lost, and has been found.” Then the celebration began.<br />
LUKE 15:21–24<br />
To do with your students<br />
Activity #1: Guided Meditation<br />
You will need: one Guided Meditation worksheet (pg. 98 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by creating a prayerful atmosphere in your classroom. Then, read aloud Luke<br />
7:36–50.<br />
B. Next, explain the following to your students: There are many interpretations of why<br />
this woman is described as sinful, and some have thought her to be Mary Magdalene,<br />
who because of this association was understood to have been a prostitute before her<br />
encounters with Jesus. Regardless of the many traditions, we can read in this passage<br />
an encounter between Jesus and a woman who has sinned and has suffered because of it.<br />
C. Then, inform your students that you will be leading them in a guided meditation on<br />
the passage from Luke. Distribute the Guided Meditation worksheet, and slowly reread<br />
Luke 7:36–50 to your students as they answer the questions.<br />
D. When students are finished, invite them to share their reflections with the class.<br />
E. Close by asking students the following reflection questions, and having them write<br />
their answers on the lines provided in the worksheet:<br />
ӹ Was there ever a time that you excluded someone, even if you did not realize it<br />
at the time?<br />
ӹ<br />
When have you experienced God’s forgiveness in a way that helped you to personally<br />
feel His love for you? What are ways in which you have felt included in a<br />
way that helped you to feel appreciated?<br />
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Activity #2: The Woman Caught in Adultery<br />
You will need: one Woman Caught in Adultery worksheet (pg. 99 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by having students read John 8:1–11 in their Bibles, or read it aloud to the class.<br />
B. Distribute The Woman Caught in Adultery worksheet and have your students answer<br />
the questions individually.<br />
C. When they are finished, review and discuss their answers as a class.<br />
Activity #3: My Story<br />
You will need: one Interview on Forgiveness worksheet (pg. 101 of this guide) per student.<br />
A. Begin by presenting for your students the material in the Teacher Background, emphasizing<br />
that we should be merciful and forgive others because God has forgiven us<br />
first.<br />
B. Next, distribute the Interview on Forgiveness worksheet. Arrange your students into<br />
pairs and invite them to take turns “interviewing” each other using the prompts on<br />
the worksheet and recording the responses on the lines provided.<br />
C. When the interviews have been conducted, give students time to arrange their notes<br />
into an article or biographical column format. Then, invite student volunteers to share<br />
their articles with the class.<br />
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Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #1 Worksheet<br />
GUIDED MEDITATION<br />
Directions:<br />
Answer the questions below as you listen to the Gospel reading.<br />
1. Imagine that you are in the place of the woman in the encounter. What does it feel like to<br />
be known as a “sinful” person?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. What do you hear, see, or otherwise feel as you come into the room? As you clean Jesus’ feet?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. What does it feel like to be excluded by everyone, especially because of something you have<br />
done?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
Reflection Questions: My Answers<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
__________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY<br />
Directions:<br />
Answer the following questions about the Gospel account of the woman caught<br />
in adultery.<br />
1. How did Jesus show mercy to the woman?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. Did Jesus approve her actions?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. What command did Jesus give to the Pharisees?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. What was the meaning of Jesus’ command?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
5. How did the woman’s actions wound herself and those around her?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #2 Worksheet<br />
THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY (continued)<br />
6. Imagine that you were one of the Pharisees. How would you have felt at the beginning of this<br />
story? How would you have felt at the end?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
7. What command did Jesus give to the woman at the end?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
8. How does Jesus’ example show us how we should treat people when they fail?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
9. Remember that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law (the Ten Commandments).<br />
How did Jesus uphold the Sixth Commandment, which prohibits adultery, in this passage,<br />
despite the mercy He shows?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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Mini-Lesson 7 Activity #3 Worksheet<br />
INTERVIEW ON FORGIVENESS<br />
Directions:<br />
Use the prompts below to interview your partner and record their responses.<br />
1. When have you experienced forgiveness after doing something wrong?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
2. When have you forgiven someone after something they have done to you?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
3. What do you think makes it so difficult to forgive someone?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
4. What is it like to experience giving or receiving forgiveness?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
5. Why is forgiving others so important for healing relationships?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
6. Why is faith and prayer such an essential part of this process?<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
_______________________________________________________________________________<br />
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APPENDIX:<br />
RESOURCES FOR PARENTS<br />
——————— • • • ——————— 103
A Dialogue of Trust and Openness<br />
In giving life, parents cooperate with the creative<br />
power of God and receive the gift of<br />
a new responsibility — not only to feed their<br />
children and satisfy their material and cultural<br />
needs, but above all to pass on to them the<br />
lived truth of the faith and to educate them<br />
in love of God and neighbor. This is the parents’<br />
first duty in the heart of the “domestic<br />
church”.<br />
The Church has always affirmed that parents<br />
have the duty and the right to be the first and<br />
the principal educators of their children….<br />
Having given and welcomed life in an atmosphere<br />
of love, parents are rich in an educative<br />
potential which no one else possesses. In<br />
a unique way they know their own children;<br />
they know them in their unrepeatable identity<br />
and by experience they possess the secrets<br />
and the resources of true love.<br />
The normal and fundamental method…is<br />
personal dialogue between parents and their<br />
children, that is, individual formation within<br />
the family circle. In fact there is no substitute<br />
for a dialogue of trust and openness between<br />
parents and their children, a dialogue which<br />
respects not only their stages of development<br />
but also the young persons as individuals….<br />
THE TRUTH AND MEANING<br />
OF HUMAN SEXUALITY,<br />
THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL<br />
FOR THE FAMILY<br />
Read the full document at:<br />
SophiaOnline.org/TruthandMeaningofHumanSexuality<br />
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Practical Tips for Parents on<br />
Discussions of Sensitive Topics<br />
Starting a Conversation: All Ages<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
It may be helpful to talk to your daughter or son separately.<br />
If at all possible, have dad talk to your son(s) and mom talk to your daughter(s).<br />
You might want to go for a walk or a drive so you can have a private, one-on-one conversation<br />
while being able to look at the scenery so it may feel a little more relaxed for you both.<br />
Another option is to talk while playing a game, or doing another fun activity so the pressure<br />
of all the attention being on the conversation is lessened.<br />
Remember that chastity only makes sense within the Church’s larger teaching on virtue and<br />
holiness. We should not focus on it in isolation. Rather, if we focus on living a virtuous life<br />
in general and help our children strive for holiness, chastity will naturally be a part of that.<br />
Tips for Conversations with Teens<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Be honest with your son or daughter if talking about sexuality is not easy for you, and you<br />
understand it may be uncomfortable for them. Being honest will clear the air.<br />
Remind your child that the emotions and uncertainties they are experiencing are normal,<br />
and you want to love, support and encourage them.<br />
Check in with your child regularly on the topics you discuss.<br />
Always return the conversation to your unconditional love for your child. Your love for them<br />
is like God’s love. We all strive throughout our lives to turn away from sin and back towards<br />
God. When we fall, Jesus offers us His mercy and the chance to begin anew in Confession.<br />
During your Conversations<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Read and Reflect on Psalm 139: 13-14 together. God loves us and made us good!<br />
You formed my inmost being;<br />
you knit me in my mother’s womb.<br />
I praise you, because I am wonderfully made;<br />
wonderful are your works!<br />
My very self you know.<br />
We are all called to make a gift of self in love. Share the specific ways you and your spouse<br />
help each other grow in holiness. Express your appreciation for the fact that marriage is<br />
about helping your spouse get to Heaven! If you have a trusted pastor or religious brother<br />
or sister, talk about how this person has given their whole life to Jesus and His Church, in<br />
the service of His mission.<br />
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ӹ<br />
If you are not sure how to answer a question, be honest with your child and tell them you<br />
will find the right answer. You could consult a trusted priest, religious, or the Catechism of<br />
the Catholic Church for help.<br />
After Initial Conversations<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
It is good to let your child know that you are always available to them, but telling them you<br />
are available is not enough. Initiate regular, on-going conversations; do not wait for your<br />
child to come to you.<br />
Remind your child that holiness does not mean never making mistakes or never sinning, but<br />
it does mean repenting (turning away from sin, resolving not to sin again, and returning to<br />
Jesus), receiving forgiveness, and beginning anew.<br />
Remember that you, not your school and not your parish, are responsible for your child’s<br />
education. Communicate with your child’s teachers and be aware of what is being taught,<br />
especially with respect to sexuality and gender. Get actively involved when needed.<br />
Emphasize that nothing they do could ever change your love for them, or God’s love for<br />
them!<br />
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Talking Points for Sensitive Topics<br />
Note: As parents, we may feel “hypocritical” by<br />
discouraging/prohibiting our children from<br />
things we ourselves have done when we were<br />
their age. Do not let this feeling stop you from<br />
helping guide and protect your child and form<br />
their conscience.<br />
Keep in mind: the true hypocrisy would be<br />
to know something is wrong and yet NOT<br />
try to protect your child from that harm!<br />
Throughout their lives you will help your<br />
children grow in holiness and virtue; part of<br />
that may come from learning from your own<br />
mistakes.<br />
You also many find you disagree with a teaching.<br />
In these cases, our perceived disagreement<br />
is often because we do not fully understand<br />
the teaching. It can take great patience<br />
and humility to trust the Church in these<br />
cases. But it can be a good opportunity to<br />
demonstrate to our children the responsibility<br />
all Christians have to form our consciences.<br />
Whatever the moral truth is, the Church has<br />
been consistently studying and teaching it for<br />
2000 years. That alone could provide the reason<br />
to be open to the teaching and investigate<br />
further.<br />
When can I begin dating?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Explain that feelings of attraction to the opposite sex are normal. They indicate that we are<br />
called to love others, and one day, if God calls us to marriage, we may choose a spouse and<br />
share our affection spiritually, emotionally, and physically.<br />
Our attractions can help us understand the kind of person God is calling us to marry. Will<br />
they be especially funny, kind, hardworking?<br />
Emphasize here too that while feelings of attraction are normal, an integral part of maturing<br />
is that we don’t act on every feeling we have.<br />
• When you feel attracted to someone, you can ask, is this someone I’d like to raise a family<br />
with? Do I enjoy being with this person? Do we share the same goals and values in life?<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
ӹ<br />
Help your child understand the true purpose of dating – to find a spouse. Your readiness<br />
to marry is a good indicator of your readiness to date.<br />
Discuss with older children how the culture says that dating is to have fun and “hook up”<br />
and have casual sex. But this behavior inevitably leads to unhappiness. (See the question<br />
below on waiting for marriage to have sex for more information.)<br />
Conclude by explaining what boundaries you are comfortable with. For example, going out<br />
on a date alone with someone may have to wait, but you may be comfortable with your<br />
son/daughter socializing in mixed-sex groups. Chaperoned school dances might be okay,<br />
whereas unchaperoned “after parties” may not be. And so forth.<br />
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How far is “too far”?<br />
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A response to this question could be: “Would you go to the edge of a cliff and see just how<br />
far you could hang off without falling down into the abyss below? No! Of course not.”<br />
We shouldn’t try to “go as far as we can” without actually having sex. Instead, we should see<br />
the other person as worthy of affection that does not put their soul in danger of sin.<br />
Remember that we strive to avoid the near occasion of sin (or situations in which we may<br />
be especially tempted to sin). We should not put ourselves in a tempting situation where<br />
we are acting in a sexual way with the person we are interested in or dating.<br />
Some suggestions for showing affection to the opposite sex that would not be compromising<br />
yourself would be hugging or holding hands. Try to find other ways to show your love<br />
by planning a fun day at the park or going for a bike ride together.<br />
Do I really have to wait to get married to have sex?<br />
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Answer this question with clarity: Yes, you should wait till you are married to have sex.<br />
God’s plan for marriage is not meant as a burdensome rule or because the Church thinks<br />
sex is bad, or dirty. The reason we should wait for marriage is because life will be better for<br />
us and for our future spouse, in every possible way: spiritually, physically, psychologically,<br />
and emotionally.<br />
Like many sins, sex outside of marriage can seem like harmless fun. But pretending sex<br />
can be “causal” or that we can have “friends with benefits” does not make it so. Sexual<br />
intercourse is the most intimate act two people can share, and abusing it inevitably leads<br />
to anxiety, loneliness, feelings of regret, abandonment, and other emotional harms, and to<br />
at least one person feeling used.<br />
Sex within marriage has two purposes, and those purposes cannot be separated. Those<br />
purposes are the procreation of children, and the uniting of the spouses.<br />
• A husband and wife’s marriage vows in which they promise to give themselves to each<br />
other freely, faithfully, totally and forever are expressed physically in an act of intercourse.<br />
When we have sex outside of marriage, we are using our bodies to express a<br />
covenant that has not been made, so we are not being true to the person we are having<br />
sex with. We make empty promises. No one wants this for someone they love.<br />
• A husband and a wife’s union is also creative. A new human person can come forth from<br />
their love. This is no small responsibility and God wants each child to have a mother and<br />
father who are committed to each other through the Sacrament of Marriage! The procreative<br />
aspect of intercourse reminds us that in marriage we are a living sign of God’s<br />
love in the world.<br />
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What if I made a mistake/went too far/lost my virginity?<br />
• Emphasize above all that God loves them, and that you love them.<br />
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• Making mistakes can lead us to become stronger in our will to follow God’s plan for our<br />
lives. With God’s grace and the Sacrament of Confession, we can begin again and pursue<br />
a life of purity.<br />
• No matter what has happened in the past, you are still loved and cherished by God, and<br />
He will help you heal and renew your commitment to chastity. Find consolation in a<br />
good Confession, and the Eucharist: God gives us His Body and Blood to strengthen us<br />
in living out our Faith!<br />
What if I get pregnant/got someone pregnant?<br />
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Emphasize your love for your child and their growing baby.<br />
We rejoice with you about this new life but know that you are uncertain and scared.<br />
We love you and will do everything to take care of you and your new baby.<br />
If your daughter is pregnant, let her know you will do all you can to encourage the baby’s<br />
father to take responsibility as well.<br />
Without implying the baby should be put up for adoption, express your support for the<br />
possible decision.<br />
Should I have an abortion?<br />
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No. We do not want you to have an abortion. Abortion is not the answer to the fear you’re<br />
feeling. Every single mother who has an abortion is terribly wounded, even if they may not<br />
realize it for a long time.<br />
Your child’s life is precious: he or she is a unique and unrepeatable human being who is<br />
growing inside of you/their mother’s womb.<br />
It is a lie society tells women that having a baby is a punishment, means having to give up<br />
their dreams, or will ruin their life.<br />
A lot of women openly regret their abortions but no mother ever regrets having her baby.<br />
I had abortion/my partner had an abortion.<br />
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I love you. God loves you, and nothing can ever change that. There is forgiveness and healing<br />
waiting for you in Jesus.<br />
Post-abortive men and women have experienced trauma and need special support. Rachel’s<br />
Vineyard (www.rachelsvineyard.org) is a Catholic apostolate that offers a safe place to renew,<br />
rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. Retreats are held in over 375 locations.<br />
They offer a supportive, confidential and non-judgmental environment where women and<br />
men can express, release and reconcile painful post-abortive emotions to begin the process<br />
of restoration, renewal and healing.<br />
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Can I watch pornography?<br />
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Answer this question with clarity: no, you should not use pornography.<br />
If at all possible, have dad talk to your son(s) and mom talk to your daughter(s).<br />
When we view pornography, we observe lust, the use of another person for pleasure, and<br />
a distortion of what an intimate, loving embrace should be between a husband and wife. It<br />
demeans the persons who are engaged in it. This is far from God’s plan! We do not watch<br />
pornography because it will distort our ideas about God’s design for our lives. It will become<br />
addictive and has the serious potential to get in the way of a happy marriage one day.<br />
Pornography destroys innocence; it is especially harmful for boys, who have a natural inclination<br />
towards visual stimulus. Through depictions of women as disposable sexual objects,<br />
it encourages fantasies of male supremacy.<br />
As a parent, be aware that pornography can be strongly addictive. (See the section on masturbation<br />
below for more information.)<br />
Pornography is an especially difficult challenge today because it is accessible in unprecedented<br />
ways.<br />
• Consider removing unfiltered access to Internet, cable TV, streaming services, and other<br />
media in your home.<br />
• Consider disallowing social media apps which are designed to facilitate sexting.<br />
• Monitor your child’s social media use.<br />
• You may want to look into services that allow you to set up accountability partners to<br />
support your efforts to avoid it on the Internet.<br />
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Especially encourage your sons to protect the privacy of the girls and women in their life.<br />
Not only should they guard their eyes for the sake of their own purity, they can also be<br />
proactive and give privacy to a person who needs it by averting their eyes if they see an<br />
indecent image, or if someone is dressed in a way that will lead them into temptation.<br />
What about masturbation?<br />
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If at all possible, have dad talk to your son(s) and mom talk to your daughter(s).<br />
Masturbation is the stimulating of one’s own sexual organs for pleasure. Masturbation is<br />
not ordered toward God’s two purposes for human sexuality: uniting with your spouse and<br />
procreation of children.<br />
As with all topics, emphasize God’s love and mercy, and take into account your child’s age,<br />
maturity, and mental well-being when discussing masturbation as a sin. The Catechism<br />
explains that a person’s “affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety<br />
or other psychological or social factors [can] lessen, if not even reduce to a minimum, moral<br />
culpability” (2352).<br />
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Masturbation, at its root, is selfish. It does not take into account that our sexual organs<br />
were made to be shared only with our spouse within the sexual act in marriage.<br />
Like pornography which often fuels it, masturbation has the potential to become addictive.<br />
Like a drug addict who requires greater and greater doses to achieve the same “high,”<br />
pornography and masturbation can lead to sexual dysfunction, potentially hurting a man’s<br />
ability to be truly intimate with his spouse.<br />
We can and should pray that God would give us the grace we need to conquer temptations<br />
which would cause us to fall into sin and lead us from the plan He has for our life.<br />
One of my friends says they are gay. How do I respond?<br />
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Emphasize our duty to treat every person with respect and dignity. A charitable response<br />
emphasizes our love and concern for our friend, including for his/her soul.<br />
While we do not understand fully why some people are attracted to a person of the same<br />
sex, we do know that we are all wounded and experience the effects of Original Sin.<br />
Our very bodies tell us something about how God created men and women to complement<br />
each other. We were made male and female, and God’s instructions were to “be fertile and<br />
multiply” (Gen 1:28). It is clear that two men or two women cannot do this.<br />
Homosexual activities are disordered because they do not uphold the plan of God which is<br />
laid out clearly in Scripture. Although it is not sinful to have homosexual temptations, it is<br />
a sin to act on them. No matter what, all of us are called to live chastely.<br />
Our identity should not be found in who we are attracted to, but instead in the way we are<br />
made in God’s image and likeness. We should be loving and kind to each and every person<br />
we meet, but we cannot encourage anyone to act on their homosexual feelings, the same<br />
we way we would not encourage anyone to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage.<br />
What if I think I’m gay?<br />
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I love you and nothing can ever change that.<br />
God loves you and wants you to be who you were created to be.<br />
You are much more than your feelings of attraction. You are a creature of God, made in His<br />
image and likeness.<br />
As a baptized Christian, you are a child of the Most High! God is your loving Father. He<br />
wants what’s best for you and so do we as your parents.<br />
Homosexual activity, like any sexual activity outside of sacramental marriage, is not what<br />
is best for you; it will harm you physically, spiritually, and psychologically.<br />
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Homosexual activities are disordered because they do not uphold the plan of God which is<br />
laid out clearly in Scripture. Although is not sinful to have homosexual temptations, it is a<br />
sin to act on them. No matter what, all of us are called to live chastely.<br />
Refraining from acting on same-sex attraction is not “denying who you are” or “not being<br />
true to yourself.” Who we feel attracted to is NOT the total of our identity.<br />
Homosexual attraction is not in and of itself sinful but homosexual actions are. These acts<br />
cannot fulfill our human nature, and do not allow us to flourish as God created us to.<br />
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Wisdom from Sacred Scripture<br />
Use the selection of quotes below to reflect and inspire you in these important discussions.<br />
Rejoice, O youth, while you are young<br />
and let your heart be glad in the days of your<br />
youth.<br />
Follow the ways of your heart,<br />
the vision of your eyes;<br />
Yet understand regarding all this<br />
that God will bring you to judgment.<br />
— ECCLESIASTES 11:9<br />
No trial has come to you but what is human.<br />
God is faithful and will not let you be tried<br />
beyond your strength; but with the trial he<br />
will also provide a way out, so that you may<br />
be able to bear it.<br />
— 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13<br />
Let no one have contempt for your youth,<br />
but set an example for those who believe, in<br />
speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.<br />
— 1 TIMOTHY 4:12<br />
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are<br />
earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil<br />
desire, and the greed that is idolatry….Put on<br />
then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,<br />
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness,<br />
and patience, bearing with one another<br />
and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance<br />
against another; as the Lord has forgiven<br />
you, so must you also do. And over all these put<br />
on love, that is, the bond of perfection.<br />
— COLOSSIANS 3:5, 12-14<br />
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The Culture Says / The Truth Is<br />
To help guide conversations, this section<br />
presents ideas or statements popular in<br />
the current culture, alongside true statements<br />
that flow from Catholic teaching. The<br />
first section on definitions and first principles<br />
is important to understand before beginning<br />
any conversations on Section II.<br />
Often, the reasons for disagreements in the<br />
specific topics in Section II are based on<br />
disagreement over the principles in Section<br />
I. For example, Planned Parenthood founder<br />
Margaret Sanger argued that abortion and eugenics<br />
were good for human flourishing, while<br />
the Church teaches that abortion and eugenics<br />
are morally wrong. How can there be such<br />
disagreement? The difference is based on unspoken<br />
assumptions about human nature and<br />
the meaning of life. If you are beginning with<br />
the assumption that individuals exist to serve<br />
society, it makes sense that the less capable,<br />
less intelligent, or otherwise “unfit” should<br />
be removed. In this distorted world view, removing<br />
less “desirable” traits will lead to “human<br />
flourishing.” It is clear, however, when<br />
you begin with the true principles, that every<br />
human life is precious, specifically willed and<br />
cherished by God.<br />
When seeking to understand Church teaching<br />
about sex, gender, or any other topic that<br />
might present a challenge, it’s often helpful to<br />
look over these basic definitions as a starting<br />
point, in order to see if it might be the root of<br />
the difficulty.<br />
Section I: DEFINITIONS AND FIRST PRINCIPLES<br />
The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
The meaning of life is<br />
to maximize happiness.<br />
The meaning of life is to get to<br />
Heaven.<br />
Human Nature<br />
Our value comes<br />
from our talents or<br />
achievements.<br />
The individual exists to<br />
serve the economy.<br />
Our value is infinite as persons<br />
made in the image and likeness of<br />
God.<br />
The economy exists to serve<br />
individuals.<br />
People are naturally<br />
good.<br />
People are inclined to sin but<br />
capable of virtue, and need God’s<br />
grace to live as we should.<br />
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The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Our feelings should<br />
guide our choices.<br />
Our intellect should guide our<br />
choices; feelings are subordinate<br />
to our intellect and will.<br />
The Role of Feelings<br />
Love is a feeling.<br />
Good things are those<br />
which feel pleasant,<br />
or bring feelings of<br />
happiness.<br />
Love is an act of the will. It is the<br />
free choice to will the good of<br />
another.<br />
Good things are those which help<br />
us be what God created us to be.<br />
If it feels good, it must<br />
be right.<br />
Our physical body isn’t<br />
really who we are. It’s<br />
more like a “shell” for<br />
our true self, which is<br />
who we are “inside.”<br />
Our feelings can lead us in the<br />
wrong direction, and to sin. It’s<br />
important to keep our feelings in<br />
check, under our intellect and will.<br />
Every human being is a unity of<br />
body and soul. Our body, male or<br />
female, is a fundamental part of<br />
who we are.<br />
The Meaning of the Body<br />
Our bodies are ours to<br />
do with whatever we<br />
want.<br />
We should use whatever<br />
medical technology<br />
is available to make<br />
our body do what we<br />
want.<br />
We should care for our bodies in<br />
light of the reality that they are<br />
gifts from God, and Temples of the<br />
Holy Spirit.<br />
We should use medicine and<br />
medical technology to restore the<br />
body to how it was designed to<br />
function.<br />
If something occurs<br />
in a lot of people, it is<br />
natural and therefore<br />
good.<br />
The fact that something is common<br />
does not make it natural or good.<br />
Natural things are those which<br />
help us achieve our purpose: bodies<br />
to function as designed, and<br />
souls growing closer to God.<br />
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Section II: SEX, GENDER, AND MARRIAGE<br />
The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Sexual differences<br />
are just social constructs.<br />
Our culture<br />
expects and so<br />
produces different<br />
things from girls<br />
and boys.<br />
Gender is fluid, it<br />
can change.<br />
We choose our<br />
gender. Sex is<br />
“assigned” at birth<br />
but later, as we get<br />
older, we decide<br />
whether we are truly<br />
male or female.<br />
It’s a sign that a<br />
boy is trans if he<br />
wants to do traditionally<br />
feminine<br />
things, or vice<br />
versa.<br />
The purpose of<br />
marriage is the<br />
happiness of the<br />
spouses.<br />
Marriage can be<br />
ended through<br />
divorce.<br />
Love is a feeling.<br />
Girls and boys are equal in dignity, but inherently<br />
different.<br />
A person being male or female cannot change,<br />
even if someone has surgery, takes hormone<br />
therapy, or has other interventions.<br />
Although a tiny minority of people are born<br />
with physical abnormalities, we are all either<br />
male or female in our DNA. This includes<br />
those who, for some unknown reason, identify<br />
themselves a person of the opposite sex. This<br />
belief can result in severe psychological confusion<br />
and pain for the person, as well as for the<br />
person’s family and friends.<br />
Boys can have interests that are considered<br />
“feminine” and girls can have interests that are<br />
considered “masculine.” It does not make the<br />
boys into girls, or the girls into boys.<br />
The purpose of marriage is for the spouses<br />
to help each other and their children get to<br />
Heaven.<br />
Marriage is a life-long, indissoluble bond.<br />
Love is an act of the will. It is the free choice<br />
to will the good of another.<br />
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The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
You shouldn’t marry<br />
unless you feel<br />
you’ve found your<br />
soulmate.<br />
No one should<br />
stay in a marriage<br />
where they are<br />
unhappy.<br />
The Church says<br />
married couples<br />
should stay together<br />
even in abusive<br />
situations.<br />
Children are<br />
resilient and not<br />
harmed by their<br />
parents’ divorce.<br />
Everyone has the<br />
right to be a parent.<br />
You do not have a single soulmate you must<br />
find for your marriage to be happy. All spouses<br />
will have conflicts. In marriage, you promise to<br />
love your spouse in good times and in bad, for<br />
as long as you both live.<br />
Marriage can be a cross, but Jesus offers the<br />
spouses the graces they need to endure in<br />
their marriage.<br />
This is false. The Church does not teach that<br />
a wife should live with an abusive husband or<br />
vice versa. When needed for the sake of safety<br />
and to seek healing, couples should separate.<br />
The Church prays for their healthy reunion.<br />
Removing a mother or a father from a family<br />
destabilizes the home and puts children at<br />
higher risk of poverty, incarceration, substance<br />
abuse, sexual abuse, and suicide. Children<br />
raised by their married parents are more likely<br />
to thrive physically, achieve more education,<br />
and enjoy a higher socio-economic status.<br />
The tragedy of infertility causes despair, grief,<br />
and tension for many couples, and the Church<br />
extends them special concern in this cross they<br />
bear. But the truth is that a child is not a right.<br />
IVF is a good approach<br />
for couples<br />
to take to infertility.<br />
IVF takes a consumeristic, scientifically-controlled<br />
approach to reproduction, and always<br />
involves the intrusion of a third party into the<br />
sacred bonds of married love. Also, IVF creates<br />
many embryos that will be destroyed or otherwise<br />
denied a chance to live their lives. IVF is<br />
completely opposed to the way God has given<br />
us to bring a baby into the world, and does not<br />
respect the sacred quality of human life.<br />
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Section III: TRANSGENDERISM<br />
The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Those who identify<br />
as the opposite sex<br />
should be affirmed<br />
in that decision.<br />
Trans people<br />
should be celebrated<br />
in a special way.<br />
Someone who<br />
believes they are<br />
the opposite sex<br />
should be encouraged<br />
to have<br />
surgery or take hormones<br />
to change<br />
their body.<br />
Men who identify<br />
as women should<br />
be able to compete<br />
in women’s sports<br />
(and vice-versa).<br />
Manhood and womanhood are realities. They<br />
are not feelings, no matter how sincerely those<br />
feelings are experienced.<br />
Those who struggle with a confused sense<br />
of sexual identity must be lovingly accepted<br />
as persons created in God’s image with the<br />
same dignity as any other person. Further,<br />
as Christians, we must pray for peace in<br />
their unique struggles and support them with<br />
Christian charity, all the while upholding the<br />
truth of God’s plan for life and love.<br />
We should treat those experiencing gender<br />
dysphoria with compassion, and it is never<br />
compassionate to lie to someone. Just as we<br />
would not withhold food from someone with a<br />
body image disorder, we should not encourage<br />
someone to mutilate or poison their body<br />
to align with a mistaken belief about gender.<br />
We should lovingly encourage and help them<br />
to accept their body including their identity as<br />
male or female.<br />
The reason we have separate sports for girls<br />
and boys is because of the inherent differences<br />
between males and females, and the<br />
physical advantages most boys have over<br />
most girls. It is true that some of the strongest<br />
women are stronger than the weakest men.<br />
But on average, men are bigger, stronger,<br />
and faster than women, making meaningful<br />
competition between them unrealistic in most<br />
sports. Girls deserve teams of their own to<br />
fairly compete.<br />
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The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Boys who identify<br />
as girls should<br />
be able to use<br />
girls’ bathrooms<br />
and showers (and<br />
vice-versa).<br />
We should use<br />
peoples’ preferred<br />
pronouns, even<br />
if it requires us to<br />
call a biological<br />
female a male and<br />
vice-versa.<br />
Girls need private spaces of their own. Boys<br />
experiencing gender dysphoria deserve to be<br />
treated with compassion, and so do girls. They<br />
deserve places of privacy where they can be<br />
free of the gaze of boys/men while they are<br />
showering/changing clothes.<br />
Saying a male is female or vice versa is a<br />
lie. God calls us to tell the truth, but we must<br />
always tell it with charity. We must find charitable<br />
ways to express ourselves that do not<br />
require us to break the Eighth Commandment.<br />
For more ideas, see “Explaining Transgender to Kids — Without<br />
Puppets” from Catholic Answers, available at:<br />
SophiaOnline.org/ExplainingTransgender<br />
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Section IV: HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY<br />
The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Love is love.<br />
Our feelings of attraction<br />
define who we are.<br />
Homosexual acts are<br />
an intimate expression<br />
of affection that are no<br />
different from heterosexual<br />
activity.<br />
The Church unjustly<br />
singles out gay people<br />
and calls their experience<br />
sinful.<br />
People who feel<br />
attracted to others of<br />
the same sex should<br />
not be told they should<br />
suppress their desires.<br />
It’s too much to ask<br />
anyone to live without<br />
sexual expression.<br />
Love is the choice to will the good of another. This<br />
love was modeled for us by Jesus’ sacrifice on<br />
the Cross. Through Him, we have life. Human<br />
beings image God not only as individual persons,<br />
but most perfectly as male and female in a common<br />
union (communion) of life-giving love.<br />
We are not defined by our feelings. The identity<br />
and dignity of all human beings come from being<br />
made in God’s image and likeness. As baptized<br />
Christians, we are adopted children of God. This<br />
is our identity.<br />
Homosexual acts are always closed to the possibility<br />
of generation of children. They do not originate<br />
from the complementarity of the male and<br />
female bodies and sexuality. Therefore, homosexual<br />
acts can never be full expressions of the total<br />
self-giving love found in marriage.<br />
Every person is called to chastity. Homosexual inclinations<br />
are not sinful, but homosexual acts are.<br />
Just as heterosexual attractions can pose certain<br />
challenges at various stages in life, homosexual<br />
attraction can present a burden to those who<br />
experience it. Those who experience homosexual<br />
attraction are called to uphold the same standard<br />
of love and chastity in their particular state in life<br />
as all Christians are. They are assisted in this<br />
through prayer, friendship, and sacramental grace.<br />
There is no such thing as a situation that requires<br />
us to act immorally. There is always a virtuous<br />
choice to be made, even if it is a very difficult one.<br />
We will often find that the virtuous choice is the<br />
hardest choice and we need God’s grace to do<br />
the right thing. But with God’s grace, nothing is<br />
impossible.<br />
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Section IV: GAY MARRIAGE<br />
The Culture Says: The Truth Is: Notes<br />
Love makes a family.<br />
Government should<br />
define who is a family.<br />
The government<br />
should recognize gay<br />
marriage.<br />
Everyone has the right<br />
to be a parent.<br />
A nuclear family, which was chosen by Jesus to<br />
be born into, is a biological reality.<br />
Government recognizes the family, a pre-existing<br />
reality. The family should be protected from, rather<br />
than defined by, government intervention. Except<br />
in cases of crisis such as death or abandonment,<br />
children should be raised by their parents because<br />
of the biological reality of parenthood.<br />
The purpose of government is to promote the<br />
common good. Traditional marriage promotes<br />
the common good because it is best for human<br />
flourishing. Marriage results from the intention<br />
of the couple to form a unitive covenant which,<br />
by definition, is ordered to procreation. By contrast,<br />
the government has no interest in romantic<br />
relationships between same-sex couples who<br />
cannot procreate. At its root, marriage involves<br />
the rearing of children: “By its very nature the<br />
institution of marriage and married love is ordered<br />
to the procreation and education of the offspring<br />
and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory”<br />
(CCC 1652).<br />
Parenthood is not a right. Within a family, parents<br />
are more rightly said to have duties than rights. It<br />
is the child who has a right to his or her natural<br />
parents. When tragic circumstances such as<br />
death or abandonment occur, adoption is a loving<br />
response.<br />
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Parent Permission Letter<br />
Dear Parent:<br />
As part of our study of Catholic theology, we are offering the option to explore some topics related<br />
to Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and human sexuality. These topics include<br />
the meaning of the body, our creation as male and female, and, in high school, natural family<br />
planning.<br />
Lessons will be sent home ahead of time for you to review so you can determine whether you<br />
would like your children to receive this instruction.<br />
Girls and boys will receive separate instruction for all lessons involving sexual differences.<br />
We encourage you to discuss the material at home, as the best way to impart these teachings is<br />
through frequent and on-going family conversations.<br />
If you would like your child to participate in these lessons, please contact me at:<br />
___________________________________________________________________________________________________<br />
If you do not contact me to give permission, your child will NOT participate in these lessons.<br />
Thank you,<br />
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Additional Resources<br />
For more authentically Catholic resources on<br />
the topics in this guide, please visit<br />
SophiaOnline/<strong>TOB</strong>Resources<br />
We will keep this page regularly updated with curated resources<br />
for parents, teachers, and catechetical leaders.<br />
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