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Teaching & Activity Ideas for Year of Consecrated Life

Dear Teacher or Catechist,

If your school or has scheduled a visit from a member of a , these are some ideas to prepare the students. Please try to invite a sister, priest or from the Diocese. They are very happy to share their life with children. (Even if you are unable to have a visit, these lesson planning ideas will help support an understanding among young Catholics of the consecrated life.)

To schedule a visit, start with the Diocese of Joliet directory, which lists contact information for all religious orders serving here along with their locations. If you need further assistance, please contact Nora Labanauskas, the secretary of JAVA, (Joliet Area Association) at 815-221- 6171, and she will help you. If no visit is scheduled, there are options listed for videos or other resources to use in place of a live presentation. A suggested source for more ideas for activities and lesson plans is the VISION Vocation Network

You may also find these suggestions helpful: 20 Ways to Promote in your Parish or School.

PRIMARY GRADES:

Teaching points:  Introduce children to the idea that God has a plan for their life – something he wants them to do when they grow up.  Explain that some people dedicate their whole lives to serving God in a special way, as priests, religious brothers and sisters. Show them photos of members of various religious orders, wearing habits and not wearing habits.  If the children have access to meeting a religious brother or sister, encourage them to ask how that person lives. Then compare/contrast this to the family life experienced by the students.  Explain that religious sisters, priests and brothers live together in community like families do.

Activities:  Have students work with coloring pages or paper dolls of religious sisters working with people to familiarize them with the concept of people dedicated to God. Source for habited orders: http://www.holy-habits.com/  Use the script for the “Jesus is Calling You” puppet show to act out what it means to listen to .  Storybook suggestions: Where Do Sisters Come From? and What Does a Priest Do? What Does a Do?

Prayer ideas:  Try introducing quiet prayer/ meditation - having students visit Jesus and spend quiet time with him so they can start listening to what he has to say to them. An excellent storybook to assist in this is The Ball of Red String.  Have children pray for all priests and religious brothers and sisters when they do intercessory prayer.

INTERMEDIATE GRADES:

Teaching points:  Introduce the idea of vocation – a special call from God – and talk about the call to priestly and religious life as a particular form of that call.  When discussing the lives of the , point out which ones established religious orders – and explain the concept of a religious order that follows the guidance, example, and often a particular rule of life created by a . (Examples, St. Benedict, St. Francis, St. Albert Avogadro...)  If the children have access to meeting a religious brother or sister, encourage them to ask how that person lives. Then compare/contrast this to the family life experienced by the students.  Explain that religious brothers and sisters do not live alone, but normally live in community with others from their order. They share work, prayer and meals together, just like a family does. Also, just like a family, they have to learn to get along with one another and share living space.

Activities:  Check the Diocesan Directory or contact Nora Labanauskas, the secretary of JAVA, (Joliet Area Vocation Association) at 815-221-6171 for names of contacts in religious orders. Then, assign students develop a pen-pal or prayer-partner relationship with a religious sister or brother. (Private email is not recommended between adults and minors, so the old- fashioned approach through the Post Office is still best.)  For a service project, raise money for the work of a particular ministry that a religious order in the area serves.  If there are religious orders serving in the school or parish, have students research the history and conduct interviews for reporting to the class. Create bulletin board displays celebrating their role and presence in your community. Prayer ideas:  Try using imaginative prayer- having students encounter Jesus in a Scripture story and spend quiet time with him to hear what he has to say to them. These three guided meditations from an excellent out-of-print book can help.  Use this guide to introducing children to the , which is prayed daily by every priest and person living in consecrated life.  Pray a simplified form of the Liturgy of the Hours with students at least once a week, if not daily. This is a good resource: Proclaim Praise.  End all formal prayers during this year with “We ask, O Lord, that you let more men and women hear the call to serve you as a priest, brother or sister. Amen.”

JUNIOR HIGH/HIGH SCHOOL

Teaching points:  God’s call and our response. People who feel called are not forced to say “yes” . It is a free choice.  Religious life may not be a sacrament, like , but it is a holy and sacramental vocation.  Living in community as a commitment to the lifestyle.  Publically professing the vows as a sign of . Brief explanation of poverty, and obedience. Chastity is always an interesting one for them – not dating, not marrying, not having children.  Dedicating one’s life to service out of love and not as a career.

Activities  Discover a ministry in your area that is sponsored by a religious community and have the Mission Director visit class to talk about what makes this ministry unique. This might be a local hospital, or it could be a distant ministry like foreign missions, working in Appalachia, the inner city, etc.  Plan a field trip to local or . If you have had them experience Liturgy of the Hours in the classroom, find out if students would be permitted to join the religious in the chapel for noon/daytime prayer.  Have students interview someone in religious life, then create a bulletin board or PowerPoint.  Show and discuss the DVD Women and Spirit: Sisters in America  For Catholic Schools Week, have students research the role of religious communities in the history of Catholic schools and create reports, PowerPoints and display boards.  Have students explore any of these websites and report on what they learn: http://www.vocation.com/ (a general vocations site) http://anunslife.org/ (blog on religious life) http://www.shmlisle.org/ (Benedictine Sisters, Lisle, IL – local) http://www.carmelites.net/ (Carmelite order general site) http://nashvilledominican.org/ (Dominicans of Nashville) http://fssh.net/ (Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Frankfort – local) http://www.thefriars.org/ (Franciscan of the Sacred Heart) http://viatorians.com/ (The Clerics of St. Viator)

 Video ideas: Explore these videos on YouTube” A Higher Calling: Sister Allison’s Vocation to be a Nun (EWTN) Augustinian Vocations: “The Call” (Augustinian Friars) Catholic Religious Life Dictionary (VISION Vocation Network) Five Signs the Religious Life Might be Right for You (VISION Vocation Network) Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Frankfort IL (Franciscan Sisters, local) Young Women Flock to Catholic Order (Dominicans of Nashville)

(If your network has YouTube blocked and you cannot show these live, with permission from your principal (or director of religious education, if you are a catechist), you may download appropriate videos to a laptop at home for projection during class, using a tool such as keepvid.com.

Prayer ideas:  Ignatian prayer techniques are easy to teach and accessible. Introduce students to the Examen and to Ignation meditation.  Distribute and discuss this article on and making choices by listening to God  Use the USCCB Year of Consecrated Life Prayer.  Dedicate prayer to an increase in vocations to consecrated life: Adoration, silent time reading Scripture, intercessory prayer...  Pray a simplified form of the Liturgy of the Hours with students at least once a week, if not daily. This is a good resource: Proclaim Praise.  End all formal prayers during this year with “We ask, O Lord, that you let more men and women hear the call to serve you as a priest, brother or sister. Amen.”  Encourage students to listen as they pray – to see if God is calling them to religious life.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Sr. Nancy Schramm, OSF Director of Formation, Office of Human Dignity Diocese of Joliet Blanchette Catholic Center 16555 Weber Road Crest Hill, IL 60403-8719 Direct 815-221-6257 Cell 224-565-1460 [email protected] www.dioceseofjoliet.org or

Joyce Donahue Catechetical Associate Diocese of Joliet Religious Education Office Blanchette Catholic Center 16555 Weber Road Crest Hill, IL 60403-8719 815-221-6146 [email protected] www.dioceseofjoliet.org/reo