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CCD 7th: God the Son (day 17)
In our 7th grade pre-Confirmation class, we reviewed God the Father (from last week) and focused on God the Son (chapter 5 in our book).
(A) Reviewed God the Father. Played the video clip from Martian Child (see last week’s summary). Reviewed homework assignment … think of an example of a movie clip demonstrating a “good dad.” From that, we brainstormed why our relationship with God the Father becomes so wounded that we stop trusting the unconditional love He has for us.
(B) Discussed prayer “Core Wounds.” In our diagram of the Christian Heart (body, mind, soul), our life experiences can develop “core wounds” that hurt our lives physically, psychologically and/or spiritually. They are shown as X’s on our diagram. These wounds are actually “LIES” that affect our future relationships, especially with our Heavenly Father. A common example, even shown in movies, is how our hurt relationships with our earthly father affect how we view the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. Wounds can keep us from trusting His loving plan for our lives.
(C) Who is Jesus? We showed a movie clip from the 1996 Sylvester Stallone movie called Daylight. It’s the scene when the rescue worker (Stallone) first encounters the trapped people. Only getting 1 rescuer is not what the trapped people expected. This disappointed reaction is similar to the one Jesus received from people as they came to discover Him as the Messiah. The idea came from thesource4ym.com clip ideas. Click the link to get discussion questions.
Here is a trailer for the movie. The actual clip used is here (but it’s in a foreign language).
Good discussion as we imagined the roles of the people, the Messiah and what our reactions would be in their shoes.
Homework: (1) Chapter 5 assessment questions on the last page.
(2) handout “How the Bible describes Jesus” … look up passages
(3) bring textbook + Bible + journal
CCD 7th: God the Father (day 16)
In our 7th grade pre-Confirmation class, we touched on God the Father (chapter 4 in our textbook). I finally got to bring in my laptop and play a few movie clips. Awesome topic. — I was really looking forward to today!
(A) Opening prayer song reflection was He is Yahweh by Dean Salyn.
(B) God the Father is always present & knows what’s best for us & forgiving. Showed a clip from Lion King (1994), when Simba takes Nala to the Elephant Graveyard after father Mufasa warns against and ends up saving them from the 3 Hyenas. The focus is the discussion between father and son at the end. [Idea from thesource4ym.com with discussion questions.]
(C) God the Father has unconditional love for me. Showed the movie trailer for the John Cusack movie Martian Child (2007) about a sci-fi writer wanting to adopt a child who thinks he’s a Martian sent to observe Earthling life. The focus clip is when the child breaks something and thinks he’s bad and will be sent away. The father assures him that “Nothing you can do will change the way I feel about you.” and then proceeds to break other “things” showing they don’t matter as much as him. Awesome clip! — I had to “pause” when leading the discussion … it easily resonated how I hear my Heavenly Father’s voice.
Discussion was great. [Idea from thesource4ym.com with questions.]
Homework:
(1) Chapter 4 Assessment questions,
(2) Pray the Lord’s Prayer each day this week,
(3) Give an example of a movie clip with a “good dad.”
CCD 7th: Parent child Jeopardy + Angelus + BAPTiSM prayer types (day 10)
Today, in our 7th grade Pre-Confirmation class, parents were invited to come to class for orientation of the upcoming year and review of the last 9 classes. We opened with a review of “incarnation” and the “Angelus” for an opening prayer. Then I reviewed the different prayer types with B.A.P.T.i.S.M.. Then we played Jeopardy!
“Angelus” Prayer
(The Angel of the Lord)
[Lead:] The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
[ALL:] And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …
[Lead:] Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
[ALL:] Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …
[Lead:] And the Word was made flesh, [bow during]
[ALL:] And dwelt among us.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …
[Lead:] Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
[ALL:] That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
[Lead:] Let us pray.
[ALL:] Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts; that we,
to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son,
was made known by the message of an angel,
may by His Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection,
through the same Christ Our Lord.
AMEN.
Types of prayers … B.A.P.T.i.S.M.
- BLESSING – invoke God’s power for a person, place or activity
- ADORATION – the “created” before the Creator
- PRAISE – glory God (for who He is)
- THANKSGIVING – gratitude (for what He does)
- i ASK for ME (petition) + OTHERS (intercession)
- SORRY – ask of forgiveness
MEDITATION – tuning into God, reflection (through quiet prayer, Sacred Scripture, lectio divina, liturgy of the hours, Rosary, holy icons, imagery, books of daily devotion, lives of saints, works of spirituality, etc.)
The MASS includes ALL these types of prayer
We played Classroom Jeopardy! with teams of parents & kids. With almost perfect attendance, only 5 kids came without parents and everyone seemed to have a great time playing. Most categories were facts we’ve covered in class like “Jewish Roots,” “Gotta Have Faith,” “Facebook Jesus,” “Catholic Pop Quiz,” “Catholic Prayers,” “Angels & Demons,” and “A.R.R.R. You Listening?” Then there was the more entertaining categories like “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Anything Goes,” and the favorite “Candy Bars.” A great time for all. I can’t wait to bring the parents back soon!
CCD 7th: Review ALL classes (day 9)
Today, in our 7th grade pre-Confirmation class, we REVIEWED all our previous classes to date.
Here are links to previous classes:
- (day 8 — Nov 8) Jeopardy Questions + Heaven + Hell + Purgatory
- (day 7 — Nov 1) Like Jesus + Holy + All Saints
- (day 6 — Oct 25) Incarnation + Chapter 1 + God Proofs
- (day 5 — Oct 18) Hats + 3 Birthdays + Vocations
- (day 4 — Oct 11) Prayer Quiz + Lies + Prayerful Heart
- (day 3 — Oct 4) Prayer Share + A.R.R.R.
- (day 2 — Sept 27) P.R.A.Y.S. + Angels + Yom Kippur
- (day 1 — Sept 20) 4 Winds Blow + Doxology + Sweet Spots
All these links are indexed on my Uth + CCD tab (at the top of this blog) for all classes.
HOMEWORK:
- bring parents next class,
- bring Bible, if you have one already,
- review notes with parents in preparation for playing Jeopardy!
CCD 7th: Heaven + Hell + Purgatory (day 8)
Today, in our 7th grade pre-Confirmation class, we …
Write Jeopardy Questions — everyone made up Jeopardy questions about anything we learned so far. Some of the questions will be used for the Parent Teen Jeopardy in a couple weeks.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
- –apparition to Juan Diego
- –picked roses in winter
- –“eye” of Mary portrait
–Gangs using Rosaries (for protection?)
Heaven – the state of eternal life and union with God, for those that choose God (saints).
Hell – the state of permanent separation from God, reserved for those that reject God.
- Sheol (Hell) – Hebrew OT word for gloomy place beneath the earth for all dead, both righteous and evil.
- Gehenna (Hell) – Hebrew NT word refers to the place on the SW side of Jerusalem, used for a dumping ground for human waste, corpses, rotting matter, etc. with “fires” burning. Became a popular symbol for what Christians called “hell.” (See Mark 9:43-48, Luke 12:5)
Purgatory – a state of final purification that one may need following death, before heaven.
HOMEWORK:
- finish Pop Quiz handout & prayer journal “God letters” (3 any + 3 events),
- do “Jeopardy Questions” handout (x 2)
CSS Bible study on Romans
Tonight was the first night of a 25 week Bible study on the book of Romans that a friend told me about. It is a strictly Catholic group study by Catholic Scripture Study International. The $50 individual registration comes with a binder of lessons and study sheets. The weekly study involves facilitator guiding us through the teachings, DVD’s and individual sharing homework answers. This study of Romans is written by Scott Hahn, a well renown Catholic convert.
The book of Romans is probably the single most disputed Biblical book between Catholics and Protestants. This book written by St. Paul is the book from which Martin Luther built his doctrine of “justification by faith alone”. Luther twisted St. Paul’s words to fit his own false teaching and even added (in his Lutheran Bible) the word “alone” to Romans 3:28 in his attempt to further enhance his doctrine of “Sola Fide” (meaning that by faith alone we are saved).
There are over 100 participants in my area. The study is done at two Catholic parishes: St Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Southwest Ranches, FL and St Bernadette Parish in Hollywood, FL.
Monday … 8:45am to 10:15am … @ St Bernadette Parish
Wednesday … 7:30pm to 9:00pm … @ St Mark Parish
Thursday … 8:45am to 10:15am … @ St Mark Parish
Thursday … 3:30pm to 5:00pm … @ St Mark Parish
— There’s about 30+ in the Wednesday night class so far. I’m excited.
Parish financial support
Thank you! Thank you VERY MUCH !
In support of their “poor” parish seminarian (that’s me!), 6 ministries of my parish of St Bernadette Catholic Church (in Hollywood, FL) gave me some generous financial donations. I wanted to all least acknowledge the ministries here … they are … St Bernadette Outreach Society, Our Lady of Lourdes Gift Shop, St Bernadette Catholic Church Council of Catholic Women, St Bernadette Columbiettes, Knights of Columbus Council #8382, and the St Bernadette Home and School Association.
Confirmation Mass
Today, I helped alter serve at my home parish of St Bernadette Catholic Church (Hollywood, FL) for Confirmation Mass with Miami Auxiliary Bishop Roman and Deacon Blanco (from St Brendan High School), along with my pastor Fr Dalton, Deacon Lou, and Fr Kris (from Archbishop McCarthy High School). A beautiful Mass for some great kids and parents (some I taught last year in CCD).
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic giftshop in Hollywood, FL
I went to 6pm Mass at my parish of St Bernadette Catholic Church in Hollywood, FL. While I was there, I browsed around our giftshop called “Our Lady of Lourdes Giftshop.” It keeps getting better and better. Here are some pictures, but they don’t do it justice. They’re open after all Masses (Sat 4pm, Sunday 7:30am, 9am, 10:45am, 6pm) and located at 7450 Stirling Road in Hollywood, FL 33024. — if you go, tell Michelle you saw it here!
RCIT + Christian IPhone
Since we were so close to my home parish of St Bernadette in Hollywood, FL, I stopped in to see the high school RCIT class preparing for Confirmation this year @ 4pm. I saw this cool poster that one of the catechists made and had to take some pictures. It’s a poster of an Apple IPhone, but with Christian buttons. — Some great details
Little Flower Catholic Church in Hollywood, FL
About 1 Sunday each month, all of us seminarians here at St John Vianney College Seminary visit a different parish of the Archdiocese of Miami. Our Rector started the tradition last year and I thinks it’s a great idea. It exposes us to different parish life as well as makes us visible to the community as a living vocation poster.
Today, we all drove up to my ‘hood to Little Flower Parish in Hollywood, FL. (My parish of St Bernadette is also in Hollywood.) The pastor Fr O’Dwyer was one of the priest how interviewed me during my seminarian application last year. The parish was very inviting and provided great food after Mass with lots of conversation with parishoners. I even found a family to practice my Polish with. — Definitely, a great tradition I hope we continue.
Easter Sunday @ my parish
carnival clean-up
I helped with clean-up efforts to “take down” my parish carnival booths at St Bernadette Catholic Church in Hollywood, FL. With only about a dozen people, it took all day and there’s still more to do. The occassional rain didn’t help either. Anyway, great work … I’ll feel it all week … came home a lobster. — It’s nice to be working with the same workers that I did back in 8th grade (for service hours), but that was 15 years ago … where’s some fresh blood.
Parish Carnival
On my first real day of mid-term break, I spent some time at my parish of St Bernadette Catholic Church in Hollywood, FL. This weekend we’re having our annual Mardi-Gras themed Carnival (our biggest fundraiser). These pictures were actually taken Sunday night (when it rained), but most of the weekend had good weather and a good turn out.
Pope + Lourdes + grotto = plenary indulgence
Since my home parish of St Bernadette Catholic Church has a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, visiting and praying at the grotto between Feb 2-11, 2008 qualifies for a special Papal plenary indulgence to encourage renewed holiness, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the appearance of Mary to St Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France.
An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment (in this world and in purgatory) due for sins committed. A plenary indulgence is the remission of all punishment. This is a tremendous gift from the Pope. To receive the indulgence, one should say the Our Father, Apostle’s Creed and the Hail Mary at the grotto along with a prayer for our Pope’s intentions and go to confession before Easter Sunday.
For more info & details, see article at Catholic News Service (CNS).
Thank you Jesus for your mercy and the Holy Catholic Church you have left us … with the treasury of your merits. May Our Lady continue to lead us to her Son, Jesus! Amen.
Confirmation Retreat revisited
Back at my home parish, the 8th grade Confirmation kids (some were my CCD kids from last year) had an evening of reflection as a follow-up to their 2-day Confirmation Retreat last month [my previous blog post about it]. The schedule was pretty simple. After 6pm Mass (which I served at), pizza on the deck, a great skit (see pictures) about Jesus bridging the gap in the face of temptations, a personal witness talk by a teen, small group debrief (“What’s happened since the Retreat?”), and some large group reflections (that I couldn’t stay for) to close. The kids definitely wanted to be there. A great sign of their Confirmation journey.
Confirmation Retreat
Today is day #2 of my parish Confirmation Retreat (it started last night) for the 8th grades of St Bernadette (both School & CCD). Since most of the CCD kids were my students last year, I assisted with a few minor things. The theme of the Holy Spirit was implimented with the popular LifeTeen format called “Fire & Ice” that is supposed to be a 3-day retreat, but it was a adapted to 2 long evening sessions. Simply … it was awesome! The parish hall was used for most activities with awesome decorations themed FIRE & ICE. Most of the talks were done by former high school confirmandi of the parish. The small group discussion were facilitated by peer ministers from local Archbishop McCarthy High School and the activites were a lot of fun (especially the “Human Pinata“).
The end of the retreat got pretty emotional, especially with Adoration/Benediction, a video from YouTube.com (below) featuring a skit at a Christian youth conference done to the Lifehouse song “Everything” (definitely moving), an altercall & open mic sharing, but everything affirmed the Holy Spirit moving in our lives preparing to affirm their commitment to the sacrament of Confirmation.
Mother of God feast day
10AM MASS — served at my home parish (St Bernadette) with my Pastor Fr Dalton & Deacon Lou on the feastday of Mary, the Mother of God [more detail info].
EVENING MOVIE — saw National Treasure: Book of Secrets. — What’s on page 47?
SJVCS Seminary Life Album
July '09 -- hospital chaplains @ IPF
Easter '09 -- Miami SJVCS friends
the Son always finds a break in let the clouds
Feb '09 -- school vocation talks @ AMHS
Feb '09 -- cold breakfast with brothers (Matias, Fenly & Randy), now at SVDP and Imad (at SJVCS)
Superbowl '09 -- eating great @ SJVCS
Sept '08 -- Worklist Coordinators?
St Raphael Chapel mural @ SJVCS
Sept '08 -- retreats @ SJVCS
"It's not easy being green"
Catholic Kermit 
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