Grade 7 – Lesson 7

Key Points  Anima Christi  The Church is the Mystical  The Life of St. John Bosco  Discerning a vocation  Free will is the God-given freedom and ability to make choices.  Eternal life is life forever with God for all who die in his friendship.  The word “Catholic” means universal. The Catholic Church is meant for all people in all times and places.

Materials  The Chosen Twelve (p. 171G)  Anima Christi  YouTube (Please bring a laptop or tablet to your lesson. Password: AllisHoly)

Catechist Prayer before the lesson: Jesus, throughout the ages you have called people of various backgrounds to follow you. You invite everyone to follow you; all that you require is our faith and our willingness to follow your example. Strengthen me to be a model of discipleship for those I teach. Amen.

Before the lesson:  Note: There are several different discussion sections in this lesson plan, so you may want to prioritize ahead of time which topics you want to cover in case you run out of time. Some of the content is difficult to grasp, so I have included some video links that explain in more detail. If you have any questions, please let me know! -Thaddeus  Hand out The Chosen Twelve. The students need to look up the Bible passages mentioned in their books on pages 174-175. Use the Youth Bibles in the classroom: o John 1:34-51 o Luke 8:1-3 o Luke 9:61-62 o Mark 1:16-20  Note: There are more activities planned in this lesson than you will have time to cover. Please plan ahead and decide which activities you would like to focus on.

1

[10 min] Invite – Disciples in Community (p. 171)

 Recite the prayer and Scripture passage on page 171.  Learn the Anima Christi prayer. The Anima Christi is a prayer from around the 14th century. It is typically prayed after receiving the Eucharist at .

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me Body of Christ, save me , inebriate me Water from Christ's side, wash me Passion of Christ, strengthen me O good Jesus, hear me Within Thy wounds hide me Suffer me not to be separated from Thee From the malicious enemy defend me In the hour of my death call me And bid me come unto Thee That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels Forever and ever Amen

[10 min] Discover – Original Holiness (p. 158)

 Original Holiness is the state of goodness that humanity enjoyed before Adam and Eve sinned against God. Everything in nature was perfect, and there was no suffering or death.  Original Sin is the sin of our first parents that wounded human nature and introduced sin, suffering, and death into the world. All humans are born with Original Sin and struggle with concupiscence, which is the desire for earthly goods instead of spiritual goods and a disproportionate desire to please our senses.  Personal sin is a deliberate thought, word, deed, or omission that violates the law of God. If a sin is a serious matter, and a person knows it is wrong but freely chooses to do it anyway, it is a mortal sin, and can only be forgiven in the sacrament of confession.  Read or summarize the text on pages 158-159 and discuss. o What are some examples of original sin that you hear about in the news or in movies and TV? o How would the world be different is those stories were replaced with examples of care, honesty, generosity, and humility?

[10 min] Discover – God So Loved the World (p. 160-161)

 Salvation is the loving action of God’s forgiveness of sins and the restoration of friendship with the Father brought by Jesus Christ.  After the Fall of Adam and Eve, the gates of Heaven were closed to humans. By disobeying God and cooperating with Satan, Adam handed over his role as steward over creation to the devil, who then

2

became the “Prince of this world.” Jesus came to save us from the consequences of humanity’s sin (death and hell), and in order to do so, he took on human flesh because it was human choice that brought about the Fall, and only a (Divine) human could undo that choice. Jesus sacrificed himself to take on the debt of all the sins of humanity, and by doing so he overthrew Satan’s power over us, and the gates of Heaven were opened to all souls who follow Christ.  Read and discuss the text about salvation.

[15 min] Discover – The Church Is the Body of Christ (p. 185-187)

 Ask the students if they’ve ever heard the expression Mystical Body of Christ. Ask what they think it means.  Explain that all members of the Church are one in Christ. This includes all the souls in Heaven (The Church Triumphant) and Purgatory (The Church Suffering). On Earth, we are called the Church Militant because we struggle against evil in the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Each member of the Mystical Body of Christ brings unique gifts. Invite the students to reflect on what gifts or talents they bring to the people in their lives and how their gifts can be used in service of others. They can write their ideas down on page 185 and share with another classmate.  Discuss: How can you recognize when your gifts are used selfishly for your own personal glory? What can you do to make sure that the gifts God has given you are properly used?  Read or paraphrase the text on pages 186 and 187 about the Church.

[10 min] Live – People of Faith (p. 192)

 Read about St. John Bosco on page 192.  Watch a video about his life (Please bring a laptop or tablet to your lesson): https://youtu.be/przQGHhOqws  Discuss: Have you ever had a dream at night that seem more vivid and full of meaning compared to regular dreams?

[15 min] Vocations

o Everyone has a vocation, which is what God calls each of us to be in our lives here on Earth. o There are 3 main branches for vocations: . Clergy (Leaders in the Church)  Pope – head of the Church, the Vicar of Christ guided by the Holy Spirit  Cardinals – second-highest office in the Church, responsible for electing a new pope  Bishops – third-highest office in the Church, leaders of a particular Diocese. Bishop Robert Morlino is the bishop of the Diocese of Madison.  Priests – parish leader. Fr. Donn Heiar is our parish priest. Fr. Doug Dushack is a retired priest who says Mass when Padre is away.  Deacons – assist parish priests, can be married. Deacon Joe Stafford is our parish deacon. . Religious (Live in community in monasteries or missionary work)  Monks (Brothers)  Nuns (Sisters)

3

. Laity  Married  Single (Includes Consecrated Celibacy, in which a person officially commits their single life to God.) o Watch this video about vocations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJz9PbakIzY o Discuss: What are some of the good things about a religious vocation? What are some of the challenges? o Getting involved at Mass is a good way to help discern your vocation. o There are many roles that people help with at Mass: . Lector – reads the Bible passage . Cantor – leads the congregation in songs . Hospitality staff – greets people when they arrive . Sacristan – prepares the bread and wine for consecration before Mass . server – Assists the priest during Mass. o If the students would like to get involved as an or another role at Mass, they can talk to the music director, Cecile.

[15 min] Discover – with God (p. 199-201)

 Free will is the God-given freedom and ability to make choices. God created us with free will so we can have the freedom to choose good. In order to be saved from sin and eternal separation from God, we need to make good choices and receive God’s grace, especially through the sacraments. o Discuss in pairs: When has it been difficult for you to choose good instead of evil? o Read the last three paragraphs on page 199 about . o Discuss: Why is baptism so important? Can someone who has not been baptized be saved? . Note: The Church teaches that unbaptized infants that die go to a place called Limbo, which resembles Earth, except there is no suffering, only happiness. The difference between Limbo and Heaven is that souls in Heaven enjoy the Beatific Vision, which is seeing God face to face and being united with Him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeBDTkr-dAM . Note: The Church teaches that “Outside the Church there is no salvation,” but this does not necessarily mean that non-Christians cannot go to Heaven. The Church exists not only here on Earth, but also in the spiritual world. If a non-Christian soul dies and meets God in the afterlife, there is the possibility that they can convert and become part of the Church after death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apltTtp6Pfs  Eternal life is life forever with God for all who die in the state of sanctifying grace (i.e. not the state of in mortal sin).  The word Catholic means universal. The Catholic Church is meant for all people in all times and places. o Read page 200 about indulgences. o Indulgences are automatically granted to Catholics whenever we practice certain devotions. For example, reading the Bible, praying the , going through the , or attending Adoration of the are all indulgences granted by the Church. This means that whenever we do these things, the time we have to spend in Purgatory for our sins is reduced. We can also offer up these devotions for others, especially for people who have died,

4

so that they can get to Heaven quickly. When we do good deeds, we can offer them up to be added to the spiritual “treasury” for other souls to benefit from. o Note: During the time of the Protestant Reformation, many priests were offering parishioners the option to donate money for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome as a type of indulgence. Offering up money is a valid sacrifice people can make, but Martin Luther saw this as an abuse of Church Authority, and criticized this practice in his 95 Theses. There may have been some cases of priests trying to sell spiritual goods (which is the sin of simony), but this was corrected within the Church at the in the 16th century. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpdUZ3kWjM8 o Discuss: Why do souls go to Purgatory? What can we do to reduce the amount of time needed to stay in Purgatory (for ourselves and others)? o Note: There are varying levels of Purgatory: More hardened sinners experience the same fire and punishment as the souls in hell, but their punishment is not everlasting. Souls that are holy but have not perfectly detached themselves from sin suffer less extreme punishments in Purgatory, but the longing for God that they experience is itself an intense suffering. There is no sense of time in Heaven because it resides in eternity, but souls in Purgatory still experience time, although time passes much more slowly there than on Earth.

[10 min] Sending – A Prayer for Peace (p. 205)

 Listen to the song Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. https://youtu.be/PGHOtR-v4yQ  Divide the class into 2 groups and have each group complete one of the following sentences: o God, help me to sow the seeds of love by… o God, help me to sow the seeds of pardon by… o Help me to encourage the growth of faith by… o Help me to be instrumental in planting seeds of hope by… o Give me the courage to reflect your light by… o Show me how to be your joyful witness by…  Pray the Prayer of St. Francis on page 205, using the responses written by each group.

5

6