Avoid Gossip
“Gossip is not a work of the Holy Spirit, it is not a work of the unity of the church. Gossip destroys the work of God. Please stop gossiping,” Pope Francis said recently in a talk on the Sacrament of Confirmation.The pope emphasized…
Post-Pentecost Discussion
Ask your students: What factors help them to feel at home in a parish community? Put the students into small groups in order to help them identify more specifically what helps them feel at home or would help them feel at home in a parish. Write…
March Madness 2018: A Salute to the Loyola Chicago Ramblers
We depart from our usual salute to all the Catholic colleges qualifying for the NCAA basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, to focus on one particular school and team: the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers who will be making their…
Reflections on Witness: Learning to Tell the Stories of Grace that Illumine Our Lives by Leonard J. DeLorenzo
Catholic adolescents are no different than Catholic adults: Both groups of Catholics often find it difficult to tell their own personal stories of faiths. Leonard DeLorenzo has taught thousands of teens and young adults to think about and share…
A Mini-Unit on Adoption for High School Students
Adoption: A Choice worth Making is a five-day mini-unit to support any course in a Catholic high school theology curriculum. It is also appropriate for parish youth ministry. The purpose of the mini-course is to acknowledge the value of human life…
Reflection Exercise: I Forgive Me
Here is a short exercise on how to forgive oneself. Use the following information to make a handout. Distribute to the students and have them work individually to complete the items. Tell them you will check to see that they did the work, but that…
Seat Warming Activity on Marriage
Last week was National Marriage Week. As a seat warming activity, have your students write answers to the following questions about marriage. The first set of questions is objective questions with the answers to be summarized from the Catechism of…
Sharing News about a Religious Vocation
The discernment of a religious vocation for a young man or young woman is accompanied by prayer, questioning, and finally a decision. At some point the person tells his or her family of the choice to further prepare for the priesthood or religious…
Get In the Game!
With the World Series near, football in full swing, and basketball and hockey seasons just kicking off, sports certainly is in the forefront. Use the reference of sports to remind your students to “get in the game” of life, to always…
Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza Shares His Catholic Faith
In July 2016, former major league catcher Mike Piazza, was inducted to the baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. In his induction speech, Piazza thanked many people who inspired him along the way, including both his father and his mother.