Infusing Catholic Identity in One’s DNA Encounter Engage Embrace Evangelize Infusing Catholic Identity in One’s DNA Orchestrated by Leland Nagel NCCL Executive Director LNagel@NCCL.org Powerpoint Templates

Bearing in the Light Rejoicing in the Light

So What If . . . Mattie Stepanek, February 1998 What if the world fills up with so many people that the earth can’t hold us all? Is that a reason for war? No. Is that a reason not to love unborn babies? Is that a reason to let sick people die? It is a reason we need to make extra room, first in our hearts and then into our world It is a reason to make room for prayer because God is the only “I AM.” Who can answer such a “What If?”

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

P R A Y Emphasizes various prayer forms Communal Private Traditional Spontaneous Gesture Song Meditation Contemplation National Directory for Catechesis, Chapter 5, Liturgical Catechesis

Context and Meaning NDC: Chapter 2 Evangelization The six principle tasks of catechesis Knowledge of the Faith Participation in liturgical and sacramental life Moral Formation Learning to Pray Preparation and participation in faith community Developing a missionary spirit

Eight Components of Youth Ministry Community Life/Social Justice & Service Evangelization Leadership Development Pastoral Care Prayer & Worship Advocacy Education/ Catechesis

COMMUNITY LIFE Evangelization Community Life is present in all other components of Youth Ministry. Anytime the youth gather they experience Community Life. Furthermore on some level the other components are present at any purely social/community outing, activity, or event. Evangelization-All components must proclaim their faith.

An American Baptist and world-renowned senior theologian, Langdon Gilkey, identified the Protestant understanding of Catholicism's distinguishing characteristics. In Catholicism Confronts Modernity, page 23, he summarizes these as: The people as community The reality of tradition The grace of caritas The sacramental sense of the living presence of God The rationality of the traditional faith

Thomas Groome in EDUCATING FOR LIFE, A Spiritual Vision for Every Teacher and Parent, page 59-60, elaborates and updates the five suggested in Gilkey's schema and adds three of his own. Positive anthropology Its conviction about the sacramentality of life Its relationship on relationship and community Its commitment to history and tradition Catholicism's appreciation of a wisdom rationality Spirituality - On seeking "holiness" of life Working for justice and the social values of God's reign Catholicity itself - Being open to truth wherever it can be found

To create conditions for learning, the following must exist LEARNRS SAFETY Absence of threat CONNECTION Connection with others whom they will trust EXPRESSION Opportunity to express oneself ACTIVATION Acticvate prior relevant learning

RITUAL and NOVELTY A B a l a n c e Rituals ensure a high level of predictability, but they can become boring. If there is simply new stimulus or novelty, it becomes chaotic It is necessary to have both of them for a balanced environment.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TIME TO DISCUSS OPTIONS Have people go for a walk with a partner and in that time answer three questions What are you grateful for? What are the highs and lows you have experienced today? What do you want to get out of our time together?

CATHOLIC ANTHROPOLOGY How the Catholic perspective shapes: Our way of life Our way of relating to self Our way of relating to others Our way of relating to the world Our entire modus operandi as human beings (persons)

How do you look at the world? What’s your story of life From beginning to end?

Here are two stories Which one do you prefer? The first story begins like this: Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there was a series of accidents. Energy and matter and molecules collided and somehow you are here today. Here by coincidence. Here by chance. The second story starts this way: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And you are here today, not by accident, but because he designed you, and loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

Here are two stories Which one do you prefer? The first story continues: The fit live. The weak die. So kill or be killed. Survival is the name of the game. Look out for number one. And here’s how the second story goes: Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the poor. Blessed are the peacemakers. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Here are two stories Which one do you prefer? The first story finishes like this: You die. The end. And the second story? Actually the second story has no end at all: “For Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.’”

Here are two stories Two stories to explain the world No one can prove which one is true. No scientist, no philosopher, no politician, no theologian, no priest. It is up to you to choose. So here are two stories. Which one do you prefer? Telling the Bible, Bob Hartman

Catholic Anthropolgy GOD IS the Beginning & End of human existence With what kind of eyes do you look out upon the world? Elohist Yahwist

Creation Stories - Elohist Does God Have a Big Toe?: Stories About Stories in the Bible Authors: Rabbi Marc Gellman, Oscar De Mejo (Illustrator)

Creation stories - Yahwist Ethiopian Tattoo Shop Author: Father Edward Hays

What story do you like best? TODAY – Right Now! What story best describes your view of life and the way you approach every day with God? Which story symbolizes your view of God the Creator? Which story would you choose to tell and why? Sharing one’s faith is catechesis

God Created the World Authors: Sheila Cassidy, Emma Hunk (Illustrator) The Creation: The Story of How God Created the World Authors: Sheila Cassidy, Emma Hunk (Illustrator)

Telling the Stories of Scripture STORIE S CREATING COMMUNITY – People feel a part of God’s family by knowing how the church began or what happened when Jesus was born. STORIES REINFORCING VALUES – Stories teach what is essential and the roots of decisions. STORIES ALLOWING MEANINGFUL FAITH CONCLUSIONS – Faith in a story outlasts logical arguments, it inspires belief.

Disciples Called to Witness Part III Jesus Christ offers us new hope through a New Evangelization. Through the re-proposing of the Gospel, the Church seeks to comfort all those who are burdened by offering faith, hope, love, and the gift of new life in Christ.

Re-propose: Decalogue – 10 Commandments Catholic Catechism for Adults Believe in the True God Reverence God’s Name Love the Lord’s Day Strengthen Your Family Promote the Culture of Life Marital Fidelity Do Not Steal – Act Justly Tell the Truth Practice Purity of Heart Embrace Poverty of Spirit

Supper of the Lamb

Everyone is welcome here. is welcome here

All are Welcome here.

All are welcome

Everyone is Offered a Place at the table

Where is the Source of Hope? Who is the Source of Hope We brought burgers to the park and church broke out. Burgers, hot dogs, pickles, potato chips and brownies. There were no bricks, no stained glass and no pews with kneelers. There would be no scripture readings, but there was plenty of scriptural action: no Mass, but an active Eucharist.

HISTORY AND TRADITION Wisdom Rationality

T R I N I T Y What do we call Y-O-U Tale of a Bishop’s Encounter Names of GOD – your turn Names you know/use for God or one of the persons in God Descriptive words/phrases associated with… We receive names from relationships In Hebrew culture, “To be nameless is to be worthless.”

Names for God In God’s Name Author: Sandy Eisenberg Sassso Phoebe Stone (Illustrator)

God Is Defining Beauty Danielle Rose

GOD IS You want to know me? You want to see my face? I do not age with time; I do not fit into a space I transcend the capacity of your eye, so who am I?

GOD IS It is the question of the moment; It is the question for all time I am you and you are mine I am the beginning in the end I am the faith in your believing I am the color of truth I am the dreamer of your dreams I am the falling in your love I am the words of a prayer I am the silence in the music I am the music in the silence

GOD IS I am your father; I am your mother I am the man who cannot cry I am the story in your eyes I am the orphan of war I am the leper begging on the corner I am the black slave in chains I am the Muslim bride who cannot show her face I’m the cross you carry again

God Is I am the beginning in the end I am the faith in your believing I am the color of truth I am the dreamer of your dreams I am the falling in your love I am the words of a prayer I am the silence in the music I am the music in the silence

GOD IS I’m all you have forgotten I am all that you have not been I am in you – all that is within you Let the journey begin. Amen I am in you, Amen.

God Is I am the beginning in the end I am the faith in your believing I am the color of truth I am the dreamer of your dreams I am the falling in your love I am the words of a prayer I am the silence in the music I am the music in the silence

CAIN and ABEL CAIN & ABEL: Finding the Fruits of Peace Author Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Illustrated by Joani Keller Rothenberg

Cain and Abel – Today A Boy in a Bed in the Dark Born with a cleft palate, My two-year-old brother, Recovering from yet another surgery, Toddled into our bedroom Toppled a tower of blocks That I had patiently built And in a five-year-old's fury I grabbed a fallen block And winged it at him Ripping open his carefully reconstructed lip.

Cain and Abel – Today A Boy in a Bed in the Dark The next hours were gruesomely compressed Ending with a boy in a bed in the dark Mute with fear Staring out into the hallway with horror As the pediatrician went in and out of the bathroom With one vast blood-soaked towel after another Shaking his head worriedly.

"A Boy in a Bed in the Dark" by Brad Sachs, from In the Desperate Kingdom of Love: Poems 2001-2004. My brother's howls And my parents' cooed comfort Became the soundtrack to this milky movie That plays In my darkest theatre, The one that I sidle past each night With a shudder And a throb in my fist.

Belief in the Resurrection If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the deep magic differently. That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery, is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack, and even death itself would turn backwards.

P A S S I N G Spiritual Cinema Circle 2009 Volume I

T I P S a n d T O O L S Youth do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. The relationship you develop with your students will be the single most important thing you do to encourage learning. The most important clues you get from your students are non-verbal:

T I P S a n d T O O L S continued NON VERBAL Posture Breathing Tonality Tempo Gestures These behaviors are accurate indicators of where you are with each other.

Cannot Keep it to Yourself If you can learn to share with those with whom you worship and serve together, If you start to overflow with the presence of God in your life, If you begin to see everything you do as gifts of grace, THIS IS GOOD NEWS YOU WILL SHARE WITH THOSE NOT AT CHURCH.

Be still and know that I am God “For many people, silence is the way God speaks to us, and when we ourselves are in silence, we are speaking the language of the soul.” -George Prochnik Cultivate Deaf Space, an appealing philosophy of architecture that emphasizes natural light, soft shapes, and colonnades and porches—“space that helps people remain in each other’s visual embrace.”

Blessing One Another Henri Nouwen To bless means to say good things. We have to bless one another constantly. Parents need to bless their children, children their parents, husbands their wives, wives their husbands, friends their friends.

Blessing One Another Henri Nouwen In our society, so full of curses, we must fill each place we enter with our blessings. We forget so quickly that we are God's beloved children and allow the many curses of our world to darken our hearts.

Blessing One Another Henri Nouwen Therefore we have to be reminded of our belovedness and remind others of theirs. Whether the blessing is given in words or with gestures, in a solemn or an informal way, our lives need to be blessed lives.

B L E S S I N G What is a blessing but a rain of grace, falling generously into the lives of those in need; and who among us is without need?

B L E S S I N G The first element in any blessing is that there has to be a relationship with God. When we bless, when we ask for goodness, we ask from the source of all goodness, we ask God. When things are going well in our lives – when the road seems to rise and meet us – our relationship with God will be positive. Cursing is the furthest thing from our minds.

B L E S S I N G When things are not going so well in our lives – when the road does not rise to meet us – everything in life can seem like an uphill struggle. It is during these times that we run the risk of losing our relationship with God. If we allow this to happen, we are unable to bless. We become like the embittered psalmist who can only curse. Relationship with and belief in God are essential to blessing.

B L E S S I N G The second element in a blessing is the ritual of transfer of the blessing or the goodness. Historically, this transfer of the blessing takes place physically through words that we pronounce and gestures that we make, such as uplifted arms or actual laying-on of hands. The person giving the blessing transfers the blessing in such a manner that it will somehow be experienced by the receiver.

B L E S S I N G The sense of touch, whether it is the wind at your back, the sun shining upon your face or the firm hand of a person signing your forehead, can convey an enormous life-sustaining power. A blessing is the bridge between heaven and earth. The transfer of the divine that occurs when we bless is truly a sacred moment.

B L E S S I N G The third element of a blessing is the enhancement of the receiver, wherein we envision the goodness of the blessing. Even Jesus, when he pronounced the Beatitudes, envisioned a goodness that would give comfort and hope to millennia of believers. We have in our possession the ability to envision virtually any future for humanity. The power to bless is incredibly awesome. It is the vision of divine enhancement, of a people resting in the palm of God’s hand, that is the hallmark of a blessing.

B L E S S I N G Your Turn Bless (Give) and be Blessed (Receive)

B L E S S I N G May your voice this day be a voice of encouragement. May your life be an answer to someone's prayer. May you have enough joy to fire your hope, enough pain to make you wise. May the lamp of your life shine upon all you meet this day. May you know that though the storm might rage, not a hair of your head will be harmed. -Macrina Wiederkehr

B L E S S I N G May the day never burden your mind. May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within. May dawn find hope in your heart. May evening find you gracious and fulfilled. May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected. May your soul calm, console and renew you. To Bless the Space Between Us, John O’Donohue

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