Archive for March, 2008
For class tonight, I am going to show the final scenes of Zefferelli’s Jesus of Nazareth focusing on the death and resurrection of Jesus. (I had planned to do this a couple of weeks ago, but that night we were invited to attend a special presentation by the 6th graders).
I’ve always thought that Jesus of Nazareth was a very good portrayal and is very educational for the young people without the uneccessarily extreme graphic approach that Mel Gibson took in The Passion of the Christ.
The scenes I am showing begin with Jesus carrying his cross, leading up to the end of the movie in which the Risen Christ is with the apostles. All told, this segment is about 40 minutes.
Throughout the viewing, I will be pausing the DVD to comment about scenes, clarify inconsistencies with the Gospel accounts, explain things that may be confusing to the young people, and take questions. This will be an active and educational viewing experience, not a passive form of entertainment.
Immediately following the video and some discussion, I will lead the young people in a reflective prayer, inviting them to insert themselves into some of the scenes they will have just witnessed and to converse with Jesus throughout the moments of his Passion and Resurrection.
My goal is to set the tone for these final few weeks we have together, intensifying the emphasis on our personal relationship with Jesus and the saving power of the Cross and Resurrection in our lives.
I had the pleasure of listening to Bishop Blase Cupich (pronounced soopich) of Rapid City, South Dakota, speak at the NCEA convention in Indianapolis the other day. He spoke about exploring “proven pathways” for facing the challenges that we face in the catechetical ministry in our culture and times. In particular, he presented an Augustinian model of passing on the faith, grounded in St. Augustine’s communications to Deogratias (A.D. 403) titled “On the Catechizing of the Unistructed.”
Deogratias, a deacon, was having a hard time teaching the faith. He felt that his teaching was being perceived as “boring.” Sound familiar? Augustine responded with his advice for catechetical instruction. Bishop Cupich mined this tradition to speak to today’s catechists. He emphasized the following:
- the need for the catechist to know his or her subject which means that we each need to strive to know Jesus more deeply
- the need to know (really know) one’s students and to adapt catechetical methodology as needed
- the need to recognize prayer as the first duty of teaching the faith and for that prayer to be rich in sign and symbol
- the need to connect the present to the story of salvation history
- the need to teach with cheerfulness which he (Augustine) called hilaritas - an enthusiasm for teaching and a love for what we teach and who we teach.
Here is a good article written by Paul Turner about Augustine’s catechetical advice.
Thanks, Bishop Cupich, for offering these “proven pathways” for meeting today’s challenges!
Maybe I’ll see some of you at the NCEA conference in Indianapolis!
See you back here Friday!
A very blessed Easter to you all!
My wife and I had the pleasure of attending the Easter Vigil at St. Clement parish on the North side of Chicago. It was a beautiful and moving experience. It was doubly special because a friend and co-worker was being received into the Catholic Church that night.
Fr. Ken Simpson, the pastor, gave an excellent homily. He spoke about what he called “the angel with an attitude” from the Gospel of Matthew (28:1-10) who rolled back the stone and then sat on it. He emphatically made the point that the angel did not roll back the stone to allow Jesus to “escape” the tomb. Rather, the angel rolled back the stone to allow the women to see that there was nothing there for them to see…that Jesus was not to be found there. Instead, the angel tells them to go quickly and tell the others and then to find Jesus in Galilee.
I couldn’t help but think that all of us catechists can look to this “angel with an attitude” for inspiration. Our job is to roll back the stones on the various tombs in which our young people think they will find life. Perched atop the stones of these tombs, we warn them away and instead send them in the direction in which they will encounter the Risen Christ.
May the joy of this Easter season give all of us an attitude of confidence so that we can tell our young people to not fear, to turn away from places of darkness and emptiness, and to go quickly to those places where they will find new life in the Risen Christ!
Amen, Alleluia!!!
I always found it interesting that society as a whole embraces the Christmas story…creche scenes abound and the story is told and sung of a child being born in humble surroundings.
For Easter, we have bunnies, jellybeans, colored eggs, and flowers!
And yet, the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place is because it is the birth of the one who died and rose from the dead. Without Easter - the Resurrection - there would be no need for Christmas. The 2 cannot be separated.
Personally, I’ve always felt much more drawn to Easter. It is after all the celebration of what forms for us the context of our lives: death and resurrection. Here it is that we find the meaning of life - not summed up in a pithy phrase but in the complex reality of death and resurrection.
I wish you and all those you teach a very blessed Triduum. I offer one piece of advice: go into these 3 days fully aware of how the story “turns out.” We don’t celebrate Holy Thursday and Good Friday as though we are sad and then turn happy on Holy Saturday, as though we need to act surprised that Jesus is raised from the dead. Jesus IS risen! We know that already. We commemorate Jesus’ suffering and death with reverence but with the knowledge that this suffering, and ours, is transformed.
We will meet again here next week when we will joyfully proclaim: Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Not too long ago, I offered information about my “new” DVD, Welcome to God’s Library. Read the details here: http://www.catechistsjourney.org/2008/02/10/welcome-to-gods-library-on-dvd/
I wanted to pass along some very nice feedback I received from a catechist by the name of Vera:
Dear Joe,
A few days ago I watched the Welcome to God’s Library DVD and was impressed with how you un-complicated the Bible. I’ve always thought that I had to memorize where certain stories were in the Bible. Now I know how to break down the Bible to make it easier to find the stories I’m looking for. I will begin teaching my children this method. I also bought your book God’s Library for the bookmarks. Thank you for the great work you are doing for our Lord.
Sincerely,
Vera
Thanks, Vera, for the kind words.
You can order copies of the DVD by sending me an e-mail at welcometogodslibrary@comcast.net, providing me with your name, shipping address, and quantity and I’ll get back to you with details. Thanks!
Thanks. -joe
Last night, the 8th graders did the Living Stations of the Cross and they did a beautiful job. They showed a reverence that was very refreshing. 4 of my students had prominent roles: narrator, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and one of the women of Jerusalem. I was very proud of them and of all the 8th graders, including the rest of my group that behaved well as part of the assembly. Kudos to our DRE, Arlene, for a job well-done!
In honor of Holy Week, I offer you these links to prayerful reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ and the Stations of the Cross:
The Stations of the Cross
As we approach Holy Week, it is not unusual to see Catholic parishes, often the religious education programs, hosting a Seder Meal - the ritual meal that Jews celebrate to mark Passover. The intention, it would seem, is to show the connection between Eucharist and Passover.
It is true that there is an intimate connection between the Eucharist and the Passover. I would venture to say that one cannot fully grasp the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist without a basic understanding of the Exodus/Passover experience. It is no accident that on Holy Thursday, when we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the first reading is about the Exodus/Passover event. It is also no coincidence that on Holy Saturday, in the Easter Proclamation (The Exsultet), we hear the words, “THIS is our Passover feast!”
Having said all that, however, there are some serious concerns about Catholics re-enacting the Seder Meal.
First and foremost, the Seder Meal is a sacred Jewish ritual. For Catholics to re-enact this sacred ritual is disrespectful of the Jewish tradition. (imagine Jewish or Muslim children re-enacting a Catholic Mass, complete with the giggling and awkward moments that are part of any childrens’ production). The Seder Meal is a Jewish tradition that Catholics should enjoy only if we are privileged to be welcomed to a Jewish Passover table.
Second, we do not know for sure that Jesus was celebrating a Seder Meal with his disciples on the night before he died. The synoptic Gospels indicate that Jesus was celebrating Passover with his disciples, but we do not know for sure how Jews celebrated Passover in the First Century. To teach that Jesus ate a Seder Meal at the Last Supper can be misleading.
Third, hosting a Seder meal on Church property can be tricky. The Catholic Church has not approved of Seder meals as a public ritual or devotion. For a parish to host a Seder Meal may give the impression that Church approval exists for such functions where it does not.
If Catholics wish to learn more about the Seder Meal or participate in one, I recommend the following:
- Catholics can work with the Jewish community to invite speakers to come and explain the Seder Meal to a group of Catholics at the parish
- Catholics can arrange to join members of the Jewish community as they celebrate the Seder Meal.
- Since the Church has not expressly forbidden Catholic reenactments of the Seder Meal, Catholics are free to use their judgment as to whether it is appropriate to take part in a Seder Meal and, if they choose to do so, it would be more appropriate to do so in the privacy of their own homes with several families attending.
Here’s a link to what the U.S. bishops have to say on the matter: God’s Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching (1988)
Closing thought: It is encouraging that Catholics wish to learn more about our Jewish roots and such education will continue to improve Catholic-Jewish relations. I affirm this desire in all those who have been seeking to do Seder Meals. I encourage you to move forward, however, in a manner that is most deeply respectful to our Jewish brothers and sisters.
Here are some interesting facts about how the Internet has influenced kids’ traditional viewing habits:
- 64% of kids report going online while watching TV, with 49% of Teens doing the same from three times a week to several times a day.
- 73% of kids are actively multitasking, which is up by +33% since 2002.
- 50% of 9 to 17-year-olds visit websites they see on TV even as they continue to watch
- 45% of teens have sent instant messages or e-mail to others they knew were watching the same TV show
- 33% of 9 to 17-year-olds say they have participated in online polls, entered contests, played online games or other online activities that TV programs have directed them to while they are watching.
- While TV/internet multitasking, 47% of kids report their attention focused primarily online, with 42% saying they focus equally on the two, while 11% report TV holds their primary attending.
The US study (The Kids’ Social Networking Study by the research firm Grunwald Associates) was conducted online with 1,277 9-17-year-olds, 1,039 parents, and telephone interviews with 250 school district leaders in charge of internet policy.
Implication: kids are into multi-tasking, meaning that content in one medium is influencing a concurrent behavior in another medium. In other words, it’s not enough to just watch a TV program or read a book, nowadays - you also need to be online or connected by cell phone while doing so. An example: you just don’t watch American Idol, you also go online (or on a cell phone) and vote people off of the show. This means that, if Jesus had a TV program today on which he was telling parables, there would be an accompanying Website where viewers could log on and express their opinion, select an option, ask a question, or indicate their level of understanding!
